Muslim lawmaker Zohran Mamdani has been elected as the 111th mayor of New York, the first person of South Asian descent and the first person born in Africa to lead the largest city in the United States.

The 34-year-old mayoral candidate and assemblyman from Queens emerged victorious in the race on Tuesday to lead New York after polls closed in a heated contest that grabbed the world`s attention.

Mamdani outperformed his chief opponent - former governor Andrew Cuomo - with at least 50 percent of support after 85 percent of the votes had been counted.

"We are on the brink of making history in our city. On the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past. A politics that tells you what it can`t do, and really what it means to say is what it won`t do, and to usher in a new era," Mamdani told reporters earlier in the day.

"We do not get to choose the scale of the crisis we face. We simply get to choose the manner in which we respond," he added.

The Democratic lawmaker promised rent control and free bus travel - a platform funded by a proposed increase in taxes on the wealthiest residents of New York City.

According to data, Mamdani`s stance on Israel and Palestine helped him seal the primary win, despite smears of antisemitism for his views on the war, which is now widely bashed as genocide.

Cuomo did not mince words on Tuesday as he cast his ballot, calling it a "civil war in the Democratic Party that has been brewing for a while."

"You have an extreme radical left that is run by the socialists that is challenging, quote unquote, moderate Democrats," said Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary in June to Mamdani. "And that contest is what you`re seeing here."

Hours later he conceded defeat, telling supporters at his own election watch party "tonight was their night."

Mamdani`s youth support goes beyond New York. For many, he`s now a national leader

But Mamdani`s vision of a more affordable city, articulated through savvy social media videos and upbeat in-person interactions, has clearly resonated with young and first-time voters (even outside of New York).

He won endorsements from scores of high-profile progressives, mobilized tens of thousands of campaign volunteers and held a double-digit lead in polls going into Election Day. Young voters, who were likely to have supported Mamdani, are credited with driving record early-voter turnout.

Less than an hour after polls closed on Tuesday, it was clear his efforts had paid off.