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Voters cast votes in Nook while the baby is waiting nearby
After President Donald Trump said he wanted to make the US semi-autonomous Danish territory part of the United States, there was not much international interest in Greenland and its elections.
Around 44,000 Greenlanders of a population of 57,000 are eligible to vote to elect 31 lawmakers, just like the country’s government.
Six political parties are voting. The five support Greenland’s independence from Denmark, and it differs in how quickly it should be.
The current Prime Minister, Mute Beged, has made it clear that Greenland is not for sale and is worthy of being “respectfully treated.”
His party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) is expected to top with 31% of the vote, followed by Social Democrat Simiut.
Watch: Danish journalist on what the Greenlanders think about Trump’s comments
How does voting work?
There are 72 polling stations scattered across Greenland’s coast, with votes continuing until 20:00 (22:00 GMT), with results expected early on Wednesday.
The size of Greenland and the remoteness of many of its settlements and small towns means that voting on time is a challenge.
There are no two towns connected by roads or rail, and the island is exposed to extreme Arctic weather.
In 2018, 55 residents of Savissivik in northern Greenland were never voted for due to bad weather. So the 4×4 Air Greenland Base Manager and local dog sledge hunters joined forces to vote.
Airplanes, helicopters, ships, speedboats, cars, snowmobiles and dog sleds are routinely adopted, ensuring that votes reach every corner of the country before elections.
Once the poll is over, the station will email five Greenland municipalities and will be added to the tally.
In Greenland’s final parliamentary election in 2021, voter turnout was 65.9%.
Why is everyone talking about independence?
Healthcare systems, social issues, fisheries and the state of the economy have all been debated during the campaign.
But that is the issue of Greenland’s independence from Denmark, which controls the debate.
Although it is now semi-autonomous, Greenland has been managed by Denmark about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) away.
Narelak – the largest opposition party at the moment – is committed to gaining momentum and to vote on SNAP on independence within three to four years.
Other actors are more cautious and avoid giving accurate timelines.
Cutting ties with Denmark is a major blow to Greenland’s economy, which relies on the fisheries sector. Danish subsidies currently donate more than $565 million (£435 million) per year. This is one fifth of total economic production or GDP.
“at the moment, [Greenland] Greenland Bank’s director of Bank of Martin Kvisgaard told Danish media the night before the election.
Past colonial misconduct meant that Denmark, largely eschews the argument of independence.
Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen has repeatedly said that the Greenlanders will decide their future.
How did Trump have an impact on the debate?
The US President first came to mind the idea of buying Greenland in 2019.
However, since the beginning of this year, he has expressed interest in many alarms in Greenland and Denmark, with the frequency of increasing Arctic islands.
In January, Trump’s son Donald Jr. visited Greenland as a “personal day trip” about what he said, which sparked real tensions that Trump’s interest was not just fleeting.
Greenland is the shortest route from North America to Europe and is strategically important to the US.
It also has large American space facilities and valuable mineral reserves, which have proven difficult to exploit so far.
Last week, Trump told the US Congress: “We’re going to get it.” [Greenland] – Either way.”
Therefore, the shadow of the president has come into great detail in this election.
In a final candidate discussion on Sunday night, five of the six party leaders said they didn’t believe the US president was reliable.
If Greenland ultimately chooses to independence from Denmark, it would pursue closer ties and have the freedom to be exposed to much more by US interests.
So it’s no surprise that in January Donald Trump reposted a 2019 poll showing 68% of the Greenlanders support independence from Denmark.
Trump’s comments about Greenland sparked a barely hidden panic in Copenhagen earlier this year.
Mette Frederiksen spent most of January in crisis consultations with her government and other Scandinavian and European leaders. She also spoke with Trump on multiple occasions on the phone.
Desperate diplomacy has been chilled in recent weeks as Ukraine and other global issues have appeared on Washington’s central stage.
However, when the Greenlanders voted Tuesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Locke Rasmussen made an oblique reference to President Trump, saying “the great powers are interested in Greenland that is different from before.”
Of course, he added diplomatically.
