All six parties on the ballot want independence from Denmark, but differ on how and when.
Demokraatit, Greenland’s pro-business, center-right opposition party, secured the most votes in the parliamentary election on March 11, a surprise result in a closely watched race held against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to take control of the autonomous territory.
Six political parties were on the ballot, all of whom supported independence from Denmark but differed on how and when it could be achieved.
With as no party securing an absolute majority, negotiations will be needed in the coming days to form a coalition government.
Demokraatit, which favors a gradual approach to independence, won 29.9 percent of the vote, official
results show.
Naleraq, which favors independence at a faster pace, won 24.5 percent of the votes. The incumbent ruling party Inuit Ataqatigiit and its coalition partner Siumut secured 21.4 percent and 14.7 percent of the votes, respectively.
The liberal Atassut and the newly-formed Qulleq won 7. 3 percent and 1.1 percent of the votes, respectively.
Inuit Ataqatigiit had been expected to win the contest, followed by Siumut. Both parties have dominated Greenland’s politics in recent years.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede, who
announced the snap elections last month,
said in a Facebook post that his party respected the outcome of the election and is “looking forward to hearing what the parties will bring to the negotiations” on forming a coalition government.
Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, has a population of 56,000, straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic, and plays a key role in monitoring security in the North Pole region.
It is also home to rich deposits of rare earth minerals used to make everything from phones to renewable energy technology.
Greenland’s election took place against the backdrop of Trump’s stated plans for the United States to take control of the Arctic island, which is home to a large U.S. military base. Trump has emphasized Greenland’s strategic importance to national security as Russia and China increase military activity in the region.
“We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” Trump said in his March 6 joint address to Congress. “I think we’re going to get it, one way or the other.”
Trump made similar comments in a March 9
post on Truth Social, in which he vowed to keep Greenland’s citizens safe and invest “billions of dollars” into the country to create new jobs.
In January, Trump said he
would not rule out the possibility of using military or economic coercion to take control of the territory.
Egede has responded to Trump’s suggestions by stating that Greenland is not for sale.
“We don’t want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit,” he
said in a March 5 Facebook post, referring to the Inuit people in Greenland who form the island’s majority population. “The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland.”
A
poll of Greenlanders in January found that 56 percent of Greenlanders would vote for independence, with 28 percent opposing it and 17 percent being unsure. The same poll found that 85 percent of respondents opposed joining the United States.
The Norse first reached Greenland, the largest island in the world, during the 900s. The modern Danish colonial presence on the North American territory began in 1721. It became an administrative district of Denmark in 1953. In 1979, more than 70 percent of voters in Greenland voted in favor of home rule, endowing Greenland with even greater autonomy.
In 2009, Greenland was granted the Act on Greenland Self-Government, creating a multi-stage process through which the district could seek independence from Denmark. That
roadmap includes a referendum by the Greenlandic people and, ultimately, the consent of the Folketing, Denmark’s parliament.
Greenland’s last election was held in 2021.
Reuters, The Associated Press and Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.
