Center-right party wins most votes in Greenland's parliamentary election
as Trump seeks control
[March 12, 2025]
By DANICA KIRKA
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — The center-right Demokraatit Party won the most
votes in a surprising result in Greenland’s parliamentary elections,
held in the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated goal of
taking control of the island one way or another.
Both Demokraatit, or the Democrats, and the second-place finisher
Naleraq, or Point of Orientation, favor Greenland's independence from
Denmark but differ on the pace of change.
Demokraatit won nearly 30% of the vote, compared to just 9% in the
election four years ago, Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation KNR TV
reported.
Naleraq came in second with almost 25% of the vote. In the 2021
election, they received just under 12%, according to KNR TV.
Demokraatit’s upset victory over parties that have governed the
territory for years indicated many in Greenland care just as much about
health care, education, cultural heritage and other social policies.
“I think this is a historic result in Greenland’s political history,”
Demokraatit party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said.
Nielsen, 33, appeared to be surprised by his party's gains, with photos
showing him sporting a huge grin and applauding at the election party.
The Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR reported that Nielsen said his
party would reach out to all other parties to negotiate the future
political course for Greenland.
“We had not expected that the election would have this outcome," Nielsen
said, according to KNR TV. “We are very happy.”
Nielsen also said that Greenland needs to stand together “in a time of
great interest from outside,” KNR TV reported.
Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede had called the early vote in February,
saying the country needed to be united during a “serious time” unlike
anything Greenland has ever experienced.
On Wednesday, after the results were known, Egede thanked voters in a
Facebook post for turning out and said the parties were ready to turn to
negotiations to form a government.
His party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit, received 21% of the vote.
This is a significant decline from the last election, when the party
came in strongest with 36% of the vote, according to KNR TV.
Inuit Ataqatigiit had been widely expected to win, followed by Siumut —
two parties which had dominated Greenland’s politics in recent years.
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Chairman of Demokraatit, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, center, hugs
supporters during the election party at Demokraatit by cafe Killut
in Nuuk, early Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau
Scanpix via AP)
Siumut came in fourth with 14% of the vote.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen congratulated the
Demokraatit party and said the future Greenlandic government would
likely have to “deal with massive pressure from U.S. President
Donald Trump,” according to DR.
He added that “it’s not the case that you can just take part of the
Danish Realm — the future of Greenland is based on what the
Greenlandic people and government want,” DR reported.
Trump has been outspoken about his desire to control Greenland,
telling a joint session of Congress last week that he thought the
U.S. was going to get it “one way or the other.”
Greenland, a self-governing region of Denmark, straddles strategic
air and sea routes in the North Atlantic and has rich deposits of
the rare earth minerals needed to make everything from mobile phones
to renewable energy technology.
A break from Denmark wasn’t on the ballot, but it was on everyone’s
mind. The island of 56,000 people has been on a path toward
independence since at least 2009, and the 31 lawmakers elected will
shape the island’s future as it debates whether the time has come to
declare independence.
Four of the five main parties in the race sought independence, but
disagreed on when and how.
Naleraq is the most aggressively pro-independence, while Demokraatit
favors a more moderate pace of change.
“What approach to independence will win the day will ultimately
depend on if Demokraatit decides to form a coalition government, and
if so, with which party,” said Dwayne Menezes, managing director of
the Polar Research and Policy Initiative.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the election “a
joyful day and a celebration of democracy" in a statement released
Wednesday.
Frederiksen congratulated Demokraatit on the win and said the Danish
government would await the results of coalition negotiations.
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