Labour Party politician Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver from Pakistan, led London’s mayoral race Friday, holding a lead over Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith that left him in position to become the city’s first Muslim mayor.
Khan won 44 percent of first-preference votes, compared to 35 percent for Goldsmith.
Goldsmith, a wealthy environmentalist, made a couple of volatile claims, labeling Khan as “dangerous” and accusing him of giving “platforms, oxygen and even cover” to Islamic extremists.
Khan, who calls himself “the British Muslim who will take the fight to the extremists,” accused Goldsmith of trying to divide voters in a multicultural city of 8.6 million people — more than 1 million of them Muslims.