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All 31 seats in the Inatsisartut 16 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 65.92% ( 5.94pp) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Snap general elections were held in Greenland on 6 April 2021 alongside local elections. [1] Inuit Ataqatigiit emerged as the largest party, winning 12 of the 31 seats in the Inatsisartut. The governing Siumut party finished second with 10 seats. [2] [3]
In November 2020, Prime Minister Kim Kielsen was defeated in a leadership election for the Siumut party, losing to Erik Jensen. However, Kielsen did not step down as Prime Minister. Growing rivalry between the two and disagreement over the Kvanefjeld mine led to the Democrats pulling out of the coalition government, leaving Siumut and Nunatta Qitornai with only 12 of the 31 seats in the Inatsisartut. [4] Kielsen failed to form a new coalition government and the Inatsisartut voted to hold snap elections. [1] [5]
Rare earth mining was expected to be a key issue in the elections, with the Kvanefjeld deposit in the south of the island being subject to public hearings and party campaigning. [6] [7] The metals found in Greenland are used to manufacture components in, for example, wind turbines and electric vehicles. The process is polluting but the resources experienced an increase in price due to increasing demand for electric vehicles. Uranium is also found in Greenland, but the mining of the resource faced strong opposition from residents. [8] Greenland Minerals Limited, an Australian-based Chinese-owned company had been planning a project to mine in the area of Kvanefjeld since 2007 and was on its "final hurdle". [9] [10]
The opposition party Inuit Ataqatigiit called for a moratorium on uranium mining, putting into question the wider rare earth mining project, whilst the ruling Siumut party voiced support for the project, citing economic growth as a key reason. [11] [12] [13] In a survey to determine the public opinion on mining in the Kvanefjeld deposit, 63% opposed such activity, of which 45% were very much against. [14] Other issues, such as independence, COVID-19 policies, foreign policy, and opinions on democratic institutions were considered less important than the debate over mining. [10]
The 31 members of the Inatsisartut are elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method. [15]
Four polls have been conducted since 2019. [16] [17] [18] In a poll conducted shortly before the election, the Inuit Ataqatigiit received 36% of the votes with the Siumut in second with 23%. [19]
 | Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. |
| Date | Siumut | IA | Democrats | Naleraq | Atassut | NQ | SA | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2021 | 23.2% | 36.2% | 13.4% | 16.4% | 6.5% | 2.1% | 2.2% | 13.0% |
| 8 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| February 2021 | 29.4% | 38.4% | 11.3% | 12.2% | 6.8% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 9.0% |
| 9 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| December 2020 | 31.0% | 34.5% | 12.7% | 11.0% | 6.1% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 3.5% |
| 10 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| January 2019 | 28.7% | 30.6% | 21.7% | 10.3% | 4.5% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 1.9% |
| 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Tie | |
| 2018 general election | 27.4% | 25.8% | 19.7% | 13.6% | 6.0% | 4.1% | 3.5% | 1.6% |
| 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
| Inuit Ataqatigiit | 9,933 | 37.44 | +11.66 | 12 | +4 | |
| Siumut | 7,986 | 30.10 | +2.66 | 10 | +1 | |
| Naleraq | 3,252 | 12.26 | –1.29 | 4 | 0 | |
| Democrats | 2,454 | 9.25 | –10.44 | 3 | –3 | |
| Atassut | 1,878 | 7.08 | +1.12 | 2 | 0 | |
| Nunatta Qitornai | 639 | 2.41 | –1.04 | 0 | –1 | |
| Cooperation Party | 376 | 1.42 | –2.69 | 0 | –1 | |
| Independents | 10 | 0.04 | New | 0 | New | |
| Total | 26,528 | 100.00 | – | 31 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 26,528 | 97.86 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 581 | 2.14 | ||||
| Total votes | 27,109 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 41,126 | 65.92 | –5.94 | |||
| Source: Qinersineq.gl | ||||||
By party, those elected were: [20]
After the election results came in, Inuit Ataqatigiit leader Múte Bourup Egede thanked voters for their win while Siumut leader Erik Jensen said that his party would wait to see what IA would offer during the coalition negotiations. [21] Siumut Prime Minister and former leader Kim Kielsen received more personal votes than Jensen, [22] which led to a continuation of the party infighting between the two as Jensen affirmed his desire to continue as leader after the election and deputy leader Inga Dora Markussen partially blamed Kielsen for the loss. [23]
On 8 April Egede said that his party had begun negotiations with other parties the day before and that he expected a coalition to be formed after 15 April, at which point IA would have met with each party a few times. [24] After Egede expressed a desire for a government with at least 16 seats, the second round of negotiations began on 9 April; [25] later that day the Democrats ruled out forming a coalition with IA citing irreconcilable views and wishing Egede luck in forming a coalition. [26] On 13 April, Egede announced that negotiations with Siumut had also fallen through, blaming infighting within Siumut for their inability to come to an agreement. [27]
On 16 April, it was announced that IA had successfully negotiated a coalition agreement with fellow pro-independence party Naleraq which would hold a combined 16 seats in the legislature (a one seat majority). Atassut announced that they would be willing to support the coalition. [28]
Hans Enoksen is a Greenlandic politician who served as the third prime minister of Greenland from 2002 to 2009.
Siumut is a political party in Greenland in the social democratic tradition. Since the establishment of home rule in 1979, it has been the dominant party in Greenland. Siumut is led by Erik Jensen, who beat the then-incumbent Prime Minister Kim Kielsen in a tight leadership contest in late 2020.
Inuit Ataqatigiit is a democratic socialist, separatist political party in Greenland that aims to make Greenland an independent state. The party, founded as a political organisation in 1976, was born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s. Traditionally in favour of a socialist economy, the party has been criticised from the left of having gradually moved towards a capitalist approach, supporting a market economy and privatisation. Inuit Ataqatigiit believes that an independent Greenland should be competitive while fighting to keep the environment clean.
The Democrats is a liberal, unionist political party in Greenland.
General elections were held in Greenland on 2 June 2009. Prime Minister Hans Enoksen announced the election date on 15 April 2009, stating that he would prefer for a newly elected parliament to administer Greenland when the self-government reform took effect on 21 June 2009. The reform gave more power to the Greenlandic parliament with decisions on most issues being devolved to the parliament but defence and foreign affairs remaining under the control of Denmark.
Naalakkersuisut is the chief executive body and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. An autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is a parliamentary representative democratic territory, in which the premier leads the cabinet, and of a multi-party system.
Kvanefjeld, in Greenland, is the site of a mineral deposit, which is claimed to be the world's second-largest deposit of rare-earth oxides, and the sixth-largest deposit of uranium. There are also substantial sodium fluoride deposits, and Kvanefjeld is thought to be one of the largest multi-element deposits of its kind in the world.
Aleqa Hammond is a Greenlandic politician and former member of the Danish Folketing (parliament). Formerly the leader of the Siumut party, she became Greenland's first female prime minister after her party emerged as the largest parliamentary faction in the 2013 elections. In 2014 she stepped down as Prime Minister and leader of Siumut, following a case of misuse of public funds. She was expelled from Siumut on 23 August 2016 after yet another case of misuse of public funds and became an independent. On 31 March 2018 she announced that she would be running in the 2018 Greenlandic parliamentary election for the Siumut breakaway Nunatta Qitornai.
The Inuit Party was a separatist party in Greenland, formed by dissidents from the then-governing Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA). The party was opposed to the so-called big-scale law, and wanted a referendum on the law. Mette Lynge represented the party in the Naalakkersuisut (Government) and was minister for dwellings, nature and environment. At the 2014 Greenlandic general election the party did not win any seats in parliament.
Kim Kielsen is a Greenlandic politician, who served as leader of the Siumut party and sixth prime minister of Greenland between 2014 and 2021.
Atassut is a liberal-conservative and unionist political party in Greenland. Founded on 29 April 1978, Atassut is an established partner of the Liberal Party of Denmark.
General elections were held in Greenland on 24 April 2018, electing all 31 members of Parliament. The elections were required to be held no later than 26 November 2018, four years after the previous elections on 27 November 2014, but Prime Minister Kim Kielsen chose to call the elections seven months early. His Siumut party remained the largest in Parliament, but lost two seats, whilst Inuit Ataqatigiit, the second-largest party, lost three seats. The smaller Democrats and Partii Naleraq gained seats, with the newly formed Cooperation Party and Nunatta Qitornai parties both entering Parliament.
The seventh Cabinet of Kim Kielsen was the Government of Greenland in office from 29 May 2020 to 8 February 2021. It was a coalition minority government consisting of Siumut, the Democrats and Nunatta Qitornai.
Múte Inequnaaluk Bourup Egede is a Greenlandic politician currently serving as the seventh prime minister of Greenland, a position he has held since April 2021. He has served as a member of the Inatsisartut, the parliament of Greenland, since 2015, and furthermore as chairman of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party since 2018.
Events in the year 2021 in Greenland.
Pele Broberg is a Greenlandic politician (Naleraq), entrepreneur and pilot. He became minister of foreign affairs, trade, climate and business in April 2021, but foreign affairs and climate was transferred to premier of Greenland Múte Bourup Egede in September 2021 after a controversy. Broberg was minister for finance in 2018.
Naaja Nathanielsen is a Greenlandic politician of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party. She was a member of the Inatsisartut from 2009 to 2016, and was re-elected in 2021. She has been the director of Greenland's department of prisons and probation from 2016, and became minister for natural resources in 2021. In her role as minister for natural resources, she banned uranium mining. She is a feminist, and has spoken against domestic violence in the country.
Mariane Paviasen is a Greenlandic politician. She was elected to the Inatsisartut, the parliament of Greenland, during the 2021 general election. She is a member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party and a vocal opponent to uranium mining.
Jens Napãtôᴋ', also known as Jens Napaattooq, is a Greenlandic politician. He is a member of the Inatsisartut, the parliament of Greenland, representing the Naleraq party. He was elected in 2021, made a chairman of two committees, and took a leave of absence after a video surfaced allegedly showing him threatening to attack someone in his home. He underwent treatment for alcohol, and returned to the Inatsisartut by September 2021. He was removed as chairman from his committees in April 2022. In June 2022, he was elected deputy leader of Naleraq.
Aqqaluaq Biilmann Egede is a Greenlandic politician from Inuit Ataqatigiit. He has been minister for raw materials and justice since April 2022, and he had previously been minister of finance and taxes (2016-2018) and minister of fisheries and prisoners (2021-2022).
| Parliamentary elections | |
|---|---|
| European elections | |
| Local elections | |
| Referendums | |
See also: Elections and referendums in Denmark | |
