Catalan president welcomes Mamdani's election as New York mayor: 'A ray of hope'

President Salvador Illa has welcomed the election of Democrat Zohran Mamdani as New York City's new mayor.

Catalonia's Socialist leader said that Mamdani's victory "represents a ray of hope" in a United States governed by Donald Trump and in a global context where far-right movements are gaining support.

He described it as one of four pieces of "good news," alongside Democratic victories in Virginia and New Jersey, and the outcome of the referendum in California on redrawing electoral districts.

Mamdani, 34, was declared the winner of the New York mayoral election with 50.4% of the vote, according to results reported by CNN and CBS.

Promising to freeze rents and provide free buses and childcare in the city, Mamdani defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, 67, who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary.

Mamdani will become New York's first Muslim and first millennial mayor, marking a clear break for the largest city in the US from the country's far-right drift under Trump.

Democrats also won Tuesday's gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, while California voted to redraw electoral districts ahead of upcoming elections, a move that Trump has promoted in Republican-leaning states.