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Agence France-Presse

A left-wing environmentalist party opposed to a controversial mining project won a clear victory in Greenland’s parliamentary election, results released on Wednesday showed.
With 36.6 per cent of the vote, Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) was ahead of Siumut, a social democratic party that has dominated politics in the Danish territory since it gained autonomy in 1979.
“The people have spoken,” 34-year-old IA leader Mute Egede said in a post to Facebook early on Wednesday. “Your trust commits us to a great responsibility which we will strive to meet.”
Egede, a member of the Inatsisartut since 2015, took over the reins of the left-green party a little over two years ago. Speaking to KNR early on Wednesday, he said: “I may be young, but that is also my strength.”
After a victory in 2009, this is only the second time the party has dethroned Siumut as the largest party in Greenland, a vast territory with a population of only 56,000, of which some 41,000 are eligible to vote.
IA, which was previously in opposition, is expected to grab 12 of the 31 seats in the Inatsisartut, the local parliament, up from eight in the outgoing body.
But without an absolute majority, the most likely scenario is that IA will join forces with smaller parties to form a coalition.
Egede told public broadcaster KNR he would immediately start discussions to “explore different forms of cooperation” before forming a coalition government.
Siumut, which headed the outgoing government, has been partly weakened by internal struggles over the last few years. It gained 29.4 per cent of the vote, still two percentage points higher than its results in the 2018 election.
The dividing line between the two parties was whether to authorise a controversial giant rare earth and uranium mining project, currently the subject of public hearings.
The Kuannersuit deposit, in the island’s south, is considered one of the world’s richest in uranium and rare earth minerals – a group of 17 metals used as components in everything from smartphones to electric cars and weapons.

IA has called for a moratorium on uranium mining, which would effectively put a halt to the project.
“The message from the voters is very clear: they will not sacrifice the environment to serve the economy,” said Mikaa Mered, a professor of geopolitics at Sciences Po university in Paris.
IA has also promised to sign the Paris climate agreement, which Greenland is one of the few countries not to have ratified.
A poll published on Monday by newspaper Sermitsiaq showed that 63 per cent of respondents were against the mining project, although only 29 per cent were against mining in general.
China’s envoy to Denmark lashes out at ‘unprovoked attacks’ from US over Greenland
“Public health is the most important thing. We know that the project will have an impact on the environment,” Egede said during the final televised debate on Monday night.
Divisions over Kuannersuit originally triggered the snap election in the territory after one of the smaller parties left the ruling Siumut coalition.
Siumut party leader Erik Jensen has said the mine would be “hugely important for Greenland’s economy”, helping to diversify sources of revenue.
Such a strategy is crucial if the island wants to gain full independence from Copenhagen someday.


Opponents however say the project, led by the Chinese-owned Australian group Greenland Minerals, has too many environmental risks, including radioactive waste.
Since 2009, the ice-covered territory has managed its own resources but still relies on annual subsidies of around 526 million euros (US$638 million), accounting for about a third of its budget, from Copenhagen.
Trump wanted to buy Greenland. But Denmark said not for sale
Denmark, which is not opposed to Nuuk’s independence, also controls issues of diplomacy and defence.
Nuuk is therefore seeking to diversify its own income, notably through more sustainable fishing, as well as tourism and agriculture. Traditional fishing currently accounts for 90 per cent of its exports.


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Greenland election: party opposed to rare earth Arctic mining project wins

The statue of the Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary Hans Egede in Nuuk, Greenland. Photo: AFP

Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. Photo: Reuters

Greenland gears up for election sparked by debate over Chinese-backed rare earths mining

Greenland is trying to diversify its economy as it contemplates a future impacted by climate change. Photo: AP 

Greenland has a population of some 56,000 people, mostly Inuit. Photo: EPA-EFE 

An election poster for Kristina Moerch Kleist from the Siumut party seen in Nuuk. Photo: EPA-EFE

A man fishes for halibut with his longline in the Nuuk Fjord. Photo: AFP 

US reopens consulate in Greenland amid power competition with China and Russia

Nuuk, Greendland’s capital in summer. Photo: Shuttertock

Aqqusinersuaq. the high street in the center of Nuuk. Nuuk. the capital of Greenland. America. North America. Greenland. (Photo by: Martin Zwick/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Did China’s growing presence in Arctic prompt Donald Trump’s offer to buy Greenland?

China has been building closer ties with Greenland in recent years. Photo: Reuters

TOPSHOT - A general view of the town of Kulusuk in Greenland on August 19, 2019. - Denmark's prime minister said on August, 21, 2019 she was "annoyed and surprised" that US President Donald Trump postponed a visit after her government said its territory Greenland was not for sale, but insisted their ties remained strong. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)

A person walks by a news stand in the Copenhagen Central Station displaying newspapers with the reactions to U.S President Donald Trump's cancelation of his trip to Denmark after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's refusal to discuss the sale of Greenland in Copenhagen, Denmark, August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

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World


Election result casts doubt on Arctic mine project for Australia-based company with Chinese ownership
Gaining access to such resources is one of the many arm wrestles between the US and China



Election result casts doubt on Arctic mine project for Australia-based company with Chinese ownership.


Arctic

Greenland election: party opposed to rare earth Arctic mining project wins

Election result casts doubt on Arctic mine project for Australia-based company with Chinese ownership Gaining access to such resources is one of the many arm wrestles between the US and China

Election result casts doubt on Arctic mine project for Australia-based company with Chinese ownership

Gaining access to such resources is one of the many arm wrestles between the US and China