London — Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York City’s mayoral race has ignited passions for and against him, from pride in his birthplace of Uganda and applause from his counterpart in London to anger from Israel’s top diplomat in the U.S.
Mamdani is a self-described democratic socialist who will be the city’s first Muslim mayor, and his victory left some people in Africa beaming with pride for a hometown son. Mamdani was born in the East African nation of Uganda 34 years ago, then lived in South Africa for two years before moving with his family to New York as a child.
“What a moment! It was beautiful! I am excited!” cheered Joseph Beyanga, CEO of Uganda’s National Association of Broadcasters, pumping his hands in the air as he spoke with CBS News.
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Beyanga said he was Mamdani’s mentor when the now-mayor-elect interned at one of Uganda’s top newspapers, the Daily Monitor, during a vacation when he was in high school.
“Whatever he wanted to do, there was no middle point. Always he wanted the top,” recalled Beyanga. “Then I realized he was not just interested in current affairs. He was interested in how the current affairs affect the people. If you’re talking about big money, the budget and all that, how does this affect the last person … he was interested in how it affects the people.”
“When it was time to interact with people, he talked to people looking straight in the eye,” he said.
Beyanga added that even 17 years after he met Mamdani, he still sees the same person in the New York City politician.
“Nothing has changed. His heart is with the people, and I don’t think that will change,” he said. “I’ve seen other outlets calling him populist and opponents giving him all sorts of names. I see a man after the heart of serving people, serving the down-trodden people in society. And hey, that doesn’t come far away from who he is. He is a Ugandan boy, and the Ugandan boy cares for the people.”
Beyanga compared excitement in Uganda now to the exuberance among many Kenyans and Indonesians when former President Barack Obama was first elected.
“The Ugandans are having their Mamdani moment,” Beyanga told CBS News, “and yes, we say if he did it, yes we can!”
In the United Kingdom, London Mayor Sadiq Khan — who became the British capital’s first Muslim leader when he was first elected in 2016 — voiced solidarity with his new counterpart. Khan is currently serving his third consecutive term.
“New Yorkers faced a clear choice — between hope and fear — and just like we’ve seen in London — hope won,” Khan said in a social media post. “Huge congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on his historic campaign.”
Following Mamdani’s election win, Time magazine published an article by Khan, who called it “extraordinary” that two of the world’s most influential cities will be led by people of the same faith.
“But — in two of the most diverse cities on Earth — it’s a bit beside the point,” Khan said. “We did not win because of our faith. We won because we addressed voters’ concerns, rather than playing on them.”
“Mayor Mamdani and I might not agree on everything. Many of the challenges our cities face are similar, but they are not identical. Put policy differences aside, though, and it’s clear that we are united by something far more fundamental: our belief in the power of politics to change people’s lives for the better.”
Mamdani, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, has been accused of antisemitism and being pro-Hamas, which he denies.
He has also been called out for refusing to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.” Intifada is an Arabic word that means uprising, but which is widely viewed as a slogan inciting violence against Israel. However, during his campaign he said he would “discourage” others from using the term and that it “is not language that I use.”
“Mamdani’s inflammatory remarks will not deter us,” Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Dannon said in a social media post on Wednesday. “The Jewish community in New York and across the United States deserves safety and respect. We will continue to strengthen our ties with Jewish community leaders to ensure their security and well-being.”
CBS News’ team in Israel said domestic media reports and editorials covering Mamdani’s win were largely split along ideological lines. Left-wing commentary generally called for Mamdani to be given a chance, while more right-wing outlets leaned the other way.
On Wednesday morning, the Times of Israel‘s front-page headline read: “Far-left, anti-Israel candidate Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayoral race.”
The Jerusalem Post‘s top featured editorial said: “Mamdani winning in NY means antisemitism can win elections, would impact Jews globally.”
