Opposition figures in India and Uganda and progressives in UK and France applaud Democrat’s election as mayor
Liberal politicians outside the US have watched Zohran Mamdani’s election win as New York mayor with interest, with some saying it offers lessons in how to combat the rise of rightwing populism.
News of the 34-year-old’s victory rang out around the globe, from his birth country of Uganda, to France and Britain, where anti-immigrant, far-right parties are breaking into mainstream politics, and India, where Mamdani is claimed as a son of the diaspora.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a prominent opposition figure in India, said Mamdani’s victory “shows that liberal values still prosper” in Donald Trump’s US and that “youth, energy and dynamism matter”.
The Times of India noted that Mamdani had quoted India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in his victory speech, saying: “A moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new.”
