A 17-YEAR-OLD beat 24 other teenagers to be elected as Lewisham’s seventh Young Mayor.

Kieza Silviera De Souza from New Cross won after receiving 1,441 votes during the election on October 13.

He said: “So far in 17 years I’ve seen that there is so much to offer, everyone has potential and that’s what I really want to tap into this year, getting people to go out there and make something of themselves.”

Jawan Sakil, aged 14, a student at Sedgehill School, was elected Deputy Young Mayor.

The election saw 9,363 youngsters voting, representing a turnout of 49.27 per cent.

He will be in office for one year and will have a budget of £30,000 to spend on priorities identified by young people.

Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock said: “We’ve now elected our seventh Young Mayor, and the tension before the announcement was extraordinary.

“The great thing is when you see all of the candidates, whether they’ve won or lost, they are hugely supportive of the winners.

“I would like to congratulate Kieza, and I look forward to working with him and Jawan in the future.”

One of the youngster’s first acts was to give an interview to radio station Reprazent which will be following his progress throughout the year. To find out more visit reprezent.org.uk/youngmayor