London: Sadiq Khan, the opposition Labour Party's candidate for mayor of London, was in the lead in early counting on Friday, putting him on course to beat the Conservatives' Zac Goldsmith.
Khan, who has faced a Tory campaign that focused on his Islamic faith and questioned whether his links in the Muslim community would make him a suitable person to keep the U.K. capital secure, had about 25 percent more votes than Goldsmith at 10:47 a.m., according to the London Elects website.
The Tory campaign said Khan, a former human-rights lawyer, had "questions to answer" over Muslims he had shared platforms with and who, they alleged, had expressed extremist views.
Khan campaigned on a platform of providing affordable housing for Londoners, freezing fares on the capital's transport network and promising to promote and support businesses.
The site gave no numbers for the progress of the count. The final result will be announced later on Friday.
