Nuuk [Greenland], March 13: Reuters reported yesterday that the center-right opposition party Demokraatit surprisingly took the lead in Greenland's legislative election held on March 11.
With the view of extending the separation from Denmark , the Demokraatit party won 29.9% of the vote, a sharp increase compared to the result of 9.1% in 2021, creating a significant gap with the "runner-up" opposition Naleraq party (24.5%), which supports accelerating the independence process. The ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party and the Siumut party received 21.4% and 14.7% of the vote respectively, while these two parties received 37.44% and 30.1% of the vote in 2021.
As no party has a majority in the 31-seat legislature, talks to form a coalition government will take place in the coming days, with the leader of the Demokraatit party leading the effort.
A semi-autonomous Danish territory, Greenland, with a population of just 57,000, is caught in a geopolitical race for control of the Arctic. Russia and China have both stepped up military activity in the region, and US President Donald Trump said in January he wanted to annex the island. AFP quoted Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Demokraatit party, as saying Greenland did not need independence tomorrow, but needed to build a good social foundation .
Greenland 's legislative elections have never attracted such global attention because of President Trump's announcement . However, the most recent poll released in January showed that 85% of Greenlanders opposed Trump's idea.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
