Greenland’s pro-business opposition party won the Arctic island’s closely-watched parliamentary election on Tuesday, following a race dominated both by US President Donald Trump’s annexation threat and growing calls from residents for independence from Denmark.
The center-right Demokraatik party, which advocates for a slower approach to independence, is leading with 29.9% of the vote, overtaking the ruling left-wing party IAInuit Ataqatigiit, according to preliminary official results. “People want change … We want more business to finance our welfare,” Demokraatit’s leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen told Reuters following the results. “We don’t want independence tomorrow; we want a good foundation.”
This year, Trump’s idea to annex the territory has thrown an international spotlight on the election and raised questions about the island’s future security as the United States, Russia and China vie for influence in the Arctic.
Nielsen will now hold talks with other parties to try to form a government coalition.
The incumbent ruling party Inuit Ataqatigiit came in third with 21.4% of the vote. Its left-wing coalition partner Siumut came in fourth with 14.7%. It’s a huge drop from the previous election, when they won a combined two-thirds of the electorate
Credit: CNN