The political landscape has been turned upside down after the Democrats and Naleraq won a historic victory. A historic election in a historic time. This is how the election is described the next morning, when it is now clear that Demokraatit is the big winner of the election.
And it was a happy Jens-Frederik Nielsen, chairman of the Democrats, who spoke in KNR's first election debate tonight:
Of course it is surprising for us. We have been hopeful, but we did not expect to win so much. We are of course happy. But I also know that this means a huge responsibility for us. Even though the election is over, the politics have only just begun.
With 4,850 personal votes, Jens-Frederik Nielsen received the largest number of personal votes in the election.
This means that Demo now has the right to initiate negotiations for a new government.
- It is important to reach out to everyone. We have to stand together when you think about what is happening in foreign policy. So we will be open to talking to all parties, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Winner: the Democrats with 30 percent of the vote. In the election four years ago, the party received just 9 percent.
Naleraq comes in second with almost 25 percent of the vote. In the 2021 election, they received just under 12 percent.
Inuit Ataqatigiit received 21 percent of the vote. This is a significant decline from the last election, when the party was the largest with 36 percent.
Siumut comes in fourth with 14 percent of the vote—also a significant blow compared to the 2021 election—in fact, it is a halving.
Atassut received 7.3 percent of the vote and that is somewhat on par with the last Parliament election.
And then there is the new party Qulleq, which received only a single percent of the vote and was not elected.
Naleraq, which wants a faster course towards independence, became the second largest party in the election with almost 25 percent of the vote.
And although the Democrats is in the other ballpark with a course towards independence at a leisurely pace, Jens-Frederik Nielsen is still ready to talk to the chairman of Naleraq, Pele Broberg.
- We went to the election on the basis that we should have a calm course in relation to the USA and state formation. We must first build the foundation. It will form the basis for our negotiations, but we are reaching out to everyone. Our country needs that, says the Democrats chairman and adds that it is especially the fisheries law and other laws that will be discussed in the negotiations.
Naleraq also had an extraordinarily good election. And if you ask Pele Broberg, it is because the party wants to work for the entire coast.
- It has been well received. One of the successes could be that we showed that we had the same policy, even though the previous chairman (Hans Enoksen, ed.) was replaced by me, says Pele Broberg, who is also ready for negotiations:
I don't think we are that different from the other parties. No matter how much they have tried to influence us, and what discourse they have tried to force on us, it is important for us that we can participate in a calm progress for the entire coast
In contrast, Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut got a proper electoral slap in the face. IA got 21 percent of the vote, while Siumut has fallen back to fourth place with just over 14 percent of the vote.
According to IA chairman, Múte B. Egede, this is mainly because the results of the policy that the Greenland government has pursued so far will only bloom over the next few years.
- The responsibility we have had during the last election period, where we have run a lot of different cases, has not yet had an effect on society at all, says Múte B. Egede.
The chairman of Siumut, Erik Jensen, is ready to accept the consequences of the historically bad election for the party.
- This is the worst result ever, and I take full responsibility, says Erik Jensen, who will discuss the election with the board of directors.
Yesterday's disastrous election result for Siumut now has consequences for Erik Jensen, who has chosen to resign as chairman.
In a press release, the party writes that "Erik Jensen expresses gratitude for the trust the party has shown him over the years, and considers it an honor to have been at the helm of Siumut. He believes that the time has now come to pass the baton."
Erik Jensen was elected chairman in 2020, after overthrowing Kim Kielsen in a chairmanship showdown. Kim Kielsen received 32 votes, while Erik Jensen received 39 votes.
In 2020, the newly elected Siumut chair, Vivian Motzfeldt, also ran as a candidate for chair, but instead ended up as political vice-chair—a position she has held to this day.
Sources: in Greenlandic, KNR (1), KNR (2).
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Historic Deal Marks First Renewal of Nunavut Agreement Since 1993
