Published: Friday 3 April 2020
The race to be Kensington and Chelsea’s first youth mayor has been a memorable one for our twelve candidates. Faced with school closures, self-isolation and the global Coronavirus pandemic, the borough and indeed the world has had to put our regular lives on pause.
But from the 16 March, those still attending school, plus those voting via post, were able to cast their vote for the first ever Youth Mayor.
Over 750 votes were counted, a great result for the first ever Youth Mayor election. We are now pleased to announce that the first Youth Mayor for Kensington and Chelsea is Imaan Abdi, who secured 34 per cent of the total votes. Following in second, and the borough’s first ever Deputy Youth Mayor is Alycia Marquis, who took home 28 per cent of the vote.
Kensington and Chelsea Youth Mayor, Imaan Abdi, said: “I will dedicate my next few years as Youth Mayor to make RBKC a place of happiness and comfort, like I said in my manifesto.”
Cllr David Lindsay, Lead Member for Families, Children and Schools, said: “I want to pass on a big well done to those elected, especially a this difficult time. All of you, particularly those elected, will never forget your first election.”
While we weren’t able to have the election ceremony as planned, you can hear reactions from the newly elected Youth and Deputy Youth Mayor in our announcement video:
The excellent remaining ten candidates will form the Youth Council, who will work together with Imaan and Alycia during their time as elected representatives.
While the elected Youth and Deputy Youth Mayor can’t meet with the Youth Council yet due to the Coronavirus pandemic, their passion and ideas remain strong. Plans are underway for how the Youth Council will take action once they are able to meet properly, both as a group and with decision makers at the Council.
The 2020 Kensington and Chelsea Youth Council
Imaan Abdi (Youth Mayor)
Alycia Marquis (Deputy Youth Mayor)
Paige Cartledge
Anna Chauvet
Alexander Clarici-Grob
Anas Dayeh
Kamran Hasteei
Georgia Hunting
Mohammed Jumah
Jermiya McIntosh
Amelie Wilson-Schafer
Ibrahim Yeski
For all the latest information on the Youth Council, visit www.rbkc.gov.uk/youth-council.