Adrian Murray
BBC News, Copenhagen
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There are 72 polling stations in Greenland, and voting will close at 22:00G on Tuesday
Greenlanders have taken part in the polls with a vote that has received little attention in the past few years, which may prove crucial to the future of Arctic territory.
President Donald Trump’s repeated interest in acquiring Greenland has brought it to the spotlight and has fueled years of debate about his future relationship with Copenhagen.
“We had no spotlight like this in Greenland before,” says Nauja Bianco, an expert on Danish green land policy in the Arctic.
Greenland has been managed by Denmark about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) away for about 300 years. It manages its own domestic issues, but decisions regarding foreign and defence policies will be made in Copenhagen.
Currently, five of the six parties on voting support Greenland’s independence from Denmark, only differing in how quickly it should be.
Voting will take place at 72 polling stations for over 11 hours and close at 8:00pm local time on Tuesday (22:00G).
Masaana Egede, editor of Greenlandic Newspaper Sermitsiaq, said the debate on independence was “on Trump’s steroids.”
The island’s strategic location and undeveloped mineral resources caught the eye of the US president. He first came up with the idea of buying Greenland for his first term in 2019.
Since re-inaugurated in January, he has reiterated his intention to acquire territory. Leaders in Greenland and Danish repeatedly rejected his request.
But after dealing with the US Congress last week, Trump has doubled again. “We need Greenland for national security. We’re going to get it in some way,” he said, urging applause and laughter from many politicians, including Vice President J.D. Vance.
Reuters
Donald Trump once again said he wanted to get Greenland “in some way” in his Congress speech last week.
In Nuuk, his words quickly became nervous to politicians to blame them. “We deserve to be treated with respect and I don’t think the US president has done that recently since he took office,” Prime Minister Mute Egede said.
Still, US interests call for Greenland to break away from Denmark, and much of the discussion focuses on when the process of independence should not begin.
Greenland’s independence goal is nothing new, Nauja Bianco points out, and it’s been going on for decades.
A series of revelations about past abuses of Inuit people by Danes have hurt Greenland’s public opinion about Denmark. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Egede said the territory should be freed from “colonialism bondage.”
However, this is the first time the subject has taken a central stage in the election.
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Prime Minister Mute Egedi calls for a more gradual transition towards Greenland’s autonomy
Inuit Atakatigit (IA), Prime Minister Mute Egede’s party, supports a gradual step towards autonomy. “Citizens need to feel safe,” he told local media.
Arctic expert Martin Bruum says Edes’s strong words to Denmark for handling challenges from Trump and his past colonial misconduct “give him a lot of votes.”
Smaller rivals can also win the ground and shake up the alliance.
Opposition party Narelack wants to kick off the divorce lawsuit from Copenhagen immediately and enters a close defensive deal with Washington.
Pointing to Greenland’s departure from the EU and Brexit, party leader Pele Bloberg said Greenland could “be out of Denmark’s kingdom in three years.”
Narerak has kept the maximum number of candidates and is gaining momentum by riding the wave of dissatisfaction with Denmark.
“It’ll be a bigger factor in both Narelak and Congress,” predicts Bruum, who says the party’s candidates have worked well on television and social media.
However, the Democratit Party on the centre right believes it is too early to push for independence.
“The economy will have to be much stronger than it is today,” party candidate Just Hansen told Reuters.
Greenland’s economy is driven by the fishing industry, and government spending relies on annual subsidies from Denmark.
Watch: Danish journalist on what the Greenlanders think about Trump’s comments
The story of Trump and independence overshadows other important issues for voters, says newspaper editor Masana Egede.
“It’s an election where we should talk about healthcare, care for the elderly, and social issues. Almost everything is about independence.”
Recent polls show that almost 80% of the Greenlanders will move towards a future nation.
Given that around 44,000 people are eligible to vote, fewer and fewer votes, it is difficult to predict the outcome.
Despite the majority of Greenlanders supporting independence, studies show that half are less enthusiastic about independence if it means a lower standard of living.
One poll found that 85% of Greenlanders didn’t want to become part of the US, and almost half saw Trump’s interest as a threat.
EPA
Tensions between Greenland and Denmark have been heightened by past abuses of Inuit people by Danes
One of the horrors among some Greenlanders is whether the Arctic islands will remain independent and will break from Denmark just to have other countries that “stand and take over on our coast.”
Experts say it’s this worry that they can vote to maintain the status quo.
Greenland’s right to self-determination is inscribed in the law by the Self-Rules Act of 2009, but there are several steps before invading from Denmark, including a referendum.
This means that it can take “about 10-15 years” to gain full independence.
“Before we make that a reality, there’s a lot of preparation and negotiations with the Danish government,” he adds.
Whatever the outcome of the election, experts don’t believe Greenland could become independent before Trump’s second term ends in 2028.
The results are expected early Wednesday.
