Greenlandic general election, 2018

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Greenlandic general election, 2018
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PartyLeader%Seats±
Siumut Kim Kielsen 27.2%9-2
Inuit Ataqatigiit Sara Olsvig 25.5%8-3
Democrats Randi V. Evaldsen 19.5%6+2
Partii Naleraq Hans Enoksen 13.4%4+1
Atassut Siverth K. Heilmann 5.9%20
Cooperation Party Michael Rosing 4.1%1New
Nunatta Qitornai Vittus Qujaukitsoq 3.4%1New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister beforePrime Minister after
Kim Kielsen
Siumut 		Kim Kielsen
Siumut

General elections were held in Greenland on 24 April 2018, [1] 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.

Greenland autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark

Greenland is an autonomous constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century, gradually settling across the island.

Parliament of Greenland parliament

The Inatsisartut, also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament of Greenland, a autonomous country in the Danish realm. Established in 1979, it meets in Inatsisartut, on the islet of Nuuk Center in central Nuuk.

Contents

Background

The 2014 general elections saw Siumut receive a narrow plurality of the vote, but win the same number of seats as Inuit Ataqatigiit (11). A coalition government was formed by Siumut, Democrats and Atassut which lasted until 2016, when Siumut formed a new coalition with Inuit Ataqatigiit and Partii Naleraq. Kim Kielsen from Siumut has led both governments. [2]

Siumut is a social-democratic political party in Greenland. The party was an observer affiliate of the Socialist International. Siumut is led by the current Greenlandic Premier Kim Kielsen. Until September 2014 it was led by Aleqa Hammond, who was the first woman to lead the party.

Inuit Ataqatigiit Political party in Greenland

Inuit Ataqatigiit is a democratic socialist and separatist political party in Greenland striving to make Greenland an independent state. The party, founded in 1976, was born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s. Formerly in favour of a socialist economy the party has gradually moved towards a more pragmatic approach supporting a market economy and privatisation. It believes that an independent Greenland should be competitive.

A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which multiple political parties cooperate, reducing the dominance of any one party within that "coalition". The usual reason for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament. A coalition government might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis to give a government the high degree of perceived political legitimacy or collective identity it desires while also playing a role in diminishing internal political strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions. If a coalition collapses, a confidence vote is held or a motion of no confidence is taken.

During the 2014–2018 parliamentary term, both Atassut MPs defected to Simumut, while Michael Rosing left the Democrats to sit as an Independent. [3]

An independent or nonpartisan politician is an individual politician not affiliated with any political party. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.

Electoral system

The 31 members of Parliament are elected by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method. [4]

Proportional representation (PR) characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. If n% of the electorate support a particular political party, then roughly n% of seats will be won by that party. The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result - not just a plurality, or a bare majority. The most prevalent forms of proportional representation all require the use of multiple-member voting districts, as it is not possible to fill a single seat in a proportional manner. In fact, the implementations of PR that achieve the highest levels of proportionality tend to include districts with large numbers of seats.

The D'Hondt method or the Jefferson method is a highest averages method for allocating seats, and is thus a type of party-list proportional representation. The method described is named in the United States after Thomas Jefferson, who introduced the method for proportional allocation of seats in the United States House of Representatives in 1791, and in Europe after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt, who described it in 1878 for proportional allocation of parliamentary seats to the parties. There are two forms: closed list and an open list.

New parties

Two new parties contested the elections, the unionist and socially liberal Cooperation Party (Suleqatigiissitsisut) founded by Michael Rosing, and the pro-independence Nunatta Qitornai (Descendants of Our Country) founded by former Minister of Finance and Interior, Minister of Industry, Labour, Trade, Tourism, Energy and Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance, Minerals and Foreign Affairs Vittus Qujaukitsoq after a dispute over the government's approach toward Denmark. He eventually left Siumut following an unsuccessful leadership challenge to Kim Kielsen. [5]

Social liberalism is a political ideology and a variety of liberalism that endorses a regulated free market economy and the expansion of civil and political rights. A social liberal government is expected to address economic and social issues such as poverty, health care and education in a liberal state. It does so in allowing autonomy of the individual and products of the market economy unrestricted access with the goal to increase wellbeing for all.

Cooperation Party

The Cooperation Party is a Greenlandic social-liberal party founded by the MP Michael Rosing and Tillie Martinussen.

Greenlandic independence

Greenlandic independence is a political ambition of some political parties, advocacy groups, and individuals of Greenland, an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark, to become an independent sovereign state.

Opinion polls

Polling FirmDate S IA D PN A NQ SA
HS Analyse [6] [7] 21–24 March 201832.6 (11)33.7 (11)12.6 (4)10.6 (3)4.1 (1)4.6 (1)1.8 (0)
HS Analyse [6] [7] 11–15 April 201827.4 (9)31.0 (10)18.8 (6)11.1 (3)5.2 (1)3.6 (1)2.9 (1)

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Siumut 7,95927.29–2
Inuit Ataqatigiit 7,47825.58–3
Democrats 5,71219.56+2
Partii Naleraq 3,93113.44+1
Atassut 1,7305.920
Cooperation Party 1,1934.11New
Nunatta Qitornai 1,0023.41New
Invalid/blank votes291–––
Total29,296100310
Registered voters/turnout40,76971.86––
Source: Qinersineq.gl
Popular vote (%)
S
 
27.2%
IA
 
25.5%
D
 
19.5%
PN
 
13.4%
A
 
5.9%
SA
 
4.1%
NQ
 
3.4%
Parliamentary seats (%)
S
 
29.0%
IA
 
25.8%
D
 
19.4%
PN
 
12.9%
A
 
6.5%
SA
 
3.2%
NQ
 
3.2%

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References

  1. ↑ Inatsisartut Vi skal til valg den 24. april KNR, 13 March 2018
  2. ↑ "Man Named Kim". The Arctic Journal. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Inatsisartunut ilaasortat Inatsisartunut
  4. ↑ Election Profile IFES
  5. ↑ Landets nyeste partier kan stille op til Inatsisartut-valget Sermitsiaq, 16 March 2018
  6. 1 2 Elkjær, Kenneth (20 April 2018). "Meningsmåling: Demokraterne står til stor fremgang". knr.gl (in Danish). Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 Elkjær, Kenneth (20 April 2018). "Små partier får gode nyheder i meningsmåling". knr.gl (in Danish). Retrieved 20 April 2018.
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