The pro-Business Democratic Party, which favors the slow approach to independence from Denmark, wins the election.
The Democratic Party of the right opposition of the center of Groenland has won a parliamentary election in the shadows from the promise of United States President Donald Trump to take control of the strategically established Arctic island.
Democrat, which is described as pro-business and favors a slow approach to independence from Denmark, won 29.9 percent of the vote after Tuesday’s elections, reports Reuters news agency, in front of the Naleraq opposition party, which favors rapid independence on 24.5 percent after all votes were calculated.
“People want change … We want more business to finance our well-being,” said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the leader of the Democrat and a former minister of industry and minerals.
“We don’t want independence tomorrow, we want a good foundation,” Nielsen told reporters.
Nielsen will now take a chance to form a ruling coalition through talks with other parties.
The Greenland Inuit Inuit Ataqatigi and its partner Sumut, who also demand a slow path to independence, won a 36 percent combined votes, from 66.1 percent to 2021.
Voting lasts half an hour during a 22:00 GMT deadline in the midst of high voter participation in some of the 72 polling stations across the island rich in minerals, with 40,500 people entitled to cast their voting.
Trump’s commitment
Since taking office in January, Trump has promised to do Greenland-a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark-part of the US, saying it is vital to US security interests.
The wide island, with a population of only 57,000, is caught in a geopolitical race for prevailing Arctic, where the melting of ice lids is making its rich sources of rare land metals and open new routes of transport.
Greenland Prime Minister Mutu Bourup Egede called the election last month, saying the territory had to join during a “serious time” that is different from anything Greenland has ever experienced.
While Trump has been open to his desire to control Greenland, both Russia and China have also intensified military activity in the Arctic region.
Greenland is a former Danish colony and a territory since 1953. It gained autonomy in 1979 when its first parliament was formed, but Copenhagen still controls foreign affairs, protection and monetary policy and provides just less than $ 1 billion a year for the economy.
In 2009, Greenland gained the right to declare full independence through a referendum, although it has not done so out of concern that living standards would fall without Denmark’s economic support.
Julie Rademacher, a counselor and former adviser to the Greenland Government, said that early on, the election campaign focused on the anger and frustration aimed at historical actions by the former colonial scholar Denmark.
“But I think the fear of the American imperialist approach has recently become greater than anger at Denmark,” Rademacher said.
Reuters news agency spoke of more than a dozen Greenlanders in Nuuk, everyone said they favor independence, although many expressed concerns that a rapid transition could harm the economy and eliminate Nordic well -being services such as universal health care and free education.
“We do not want to be part of the US for apparent reasons; Health and Trump, ”said Tuuta Lynge-Graz, a bank employee and Nuuk resident, adding that these elections were particularly important.
A survey in January suggested that most Greenland residents support independence, but are separated at the right time.