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.[1] 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.[2]
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All 31 seats in the Inatsisartut 16 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 71.29% ( 3.57 pp) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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Results
editThe pro-independence, left-wing opposition party, Inuit Ataqatigiit led by Kuupik Kleist emerged as the largest party with 43.7% of the vote.[2][3] Kleist set a new record for most votes in a Greenlandic election with 5,461 received. This compares with Akitsinnguaq Olsen who was elected with just 112 votes.[4]
The governing Siumut led by Prime Minister Hans Enoksen received 26.5% of the vote and lost control of the government for the first time in 30 years.[2] Former Siumut leader and Prime Minister Jonathan Motzfeldt failed to be re-elected for the first time since 1971, receiving just 91 votes .[4] Enoksen stated that he would step down as party leader, a position he had held since 2002, if his colleagues wished him to.[4] Siumut was believed to have lost votes over a series of scandals, including one over expenses, and concerns over its ability to manage with greater autonomy.[3]
The newly formed Sorlaat Partiiat gained just 383 votes in the election and dissolved shortly afterwards. The party stood on a platform of huge spending reductions and opposed Greenland rejoining the EU.
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Inuit Ataqatigiit | 12,457 | 44.06 | 14 | +7 | |
| Siumut | 7,567 | 26.76 | 9 | –1 | |
| Democrats | 3,620 | 12.80 | 4 | –3 | |
| Atassut | 3,094 | 10.94 | 3 | –3 | |
| Association of Candidates | 1,084 | 3.83 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sorlaat | 383 | 1.35 | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 70 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 28,275 | 100.00 | 31 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 28,275 | 99.18 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 235 | 0.82 | |||
| Total votes | 28,510 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 39,990 | 71.29 | |||
| Source: Election Passport, Parties & Elections | |||||
Aftermath
editSiumut was considered likely to be left out of government as both the Inuit Ataqatigiit and Demokraatit parties ruled out the possibility of working with them.[4] Siumut's former coalition partner, Atassut, gained too few seats to make a new coalition powerful enough to challenge for the government.[4]
On 7 June 2009 Inuit Ataqatigiit announced that it would form a coalition with the Democrats and the Association of Candidates.[5]
References
edit- ^ Simonsen, Mariia (15 April 2009) Landstingsvalg 2. juni 2009 Archived 16 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Danish). Sermitsiaq.
- ^ a b c "Opposition win Greenland election". BBC. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Pro-independence party wins Greenland poll". Agence France Presse. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Greenland wakes up to first power shift in 30 years". The Copenhagen Post. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ "Greenland parties agree on government coalition". Nasdaq. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2009.