Greenland’s largest opposition party, which is involved in an international mining project with uranium and other metals on the Arctic island, emerged as the largest party after more than a third of the votes in an early parliamentary election.
The Left Community of the People’s Party (Inuit Ataqatigiit) obtained 37% of the vote, giving the right to 12 seats in the Greenland National Assembly, the Inatsisartut with 31 seats.
Its biggest rival, the ruling center-left Forward (Siumut) party, took second place with 29% of the vote and won 10 seats.
In a victory speech, Múte Bourup Egede, the chairperson of the Community of People, pointed out themes that make his party, which is running on a strong environmental agenda, stand out among the voters.
‘There are two issues that were important in this election campaign. People’s living conditions are one. And then there is our health and the environment, ”said Egede, a 34-year-old native of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The Greenlandic public broadcaster, KNR, said.
The core of the election was a proposed international mining project by Greenland Minerals, an Australian company with Chinese ownership, which is seeking a license to operate the Kvanefjeld mine in southern Greenland.
Apart from uranium, estimates show that the Kvanefjeld mine can hold the largest deposit of rare earth metals outside China (which accounts for more than 90% of world production). The calculation has led to international interest in Greenland’s natural resources.
The result of the election creates a shift in power and an end to Forward’s almost constant hold on power at the top of politics in Greenland since 1979. Erik Jensen, the chairman of Forward, conceded the party’s defeat and Egede and his some congratulations on winning the election.
“We congratulate the Inuit Ataqatigiit on the election. We are now excited about what the [coalition] negotiations will bring in the coming days, ”Jensen said in a statement, as quoted by the Danish broadcaster TV2.
While the Forward party has taken a cautiously positive stance on the mining project, Egede on Wednesday reiterated his party’s opposition to the project and called for the scheme to be discontinued for environmental reasons. Greenland is a self-governing Danish territory.
“We need to listen to the voters who are concerned. We say no to uranium mining, ”Egede said in a statement to KNR.
Without an absolute majority in parliament, the Community of the People’s Party would probably now rather try to form a coalition with a group of smaller parties than with Forward.