Greenland is heading to the polls Tuesday with independence a key campaign theme amid US President Donald Trump‘s push to take control of the mineral-rich island, a territory of Denmark.
Voters in the world’s largest island, with a tiny population of around 56,000, are heading to cast their ballots to elect lawmakers for seats in the 31-member parliament, the Inatsisartut.
Polls open at 1100GMT and close at 2200GMT, while there will be no exit polls in the elections.
The result is expected on March 12 between 0100GMT and 0300GMT.
Sixteen seats are needed for a majority in the chamber, where members are elected for four-year periods by proportional representation, with six major parties in the race.
Greenland is currently ruled by the coalition government of Prime Minister Mute Egede’s left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit party and Erik Jensen’s social democratic Siumut party, which control 12 and 10 seats, respectively.
The opposition consists of Pele Broberg’s Naleraq party with four seats, Jens Frederik Nielsen’s Demokraatit party with three seats, and Aqqalu Jerimiassen’s Atassut party with two seats.
Along with these five, the Qulleq party, formed in 2023 by former members of the Siumut and Naleraq parties, also gained ballot access a month before the election.
A January poll by research agency Verian suggests that Egede’s Inuit Ataqatigiit party could secure about 31% and Siumut about 9% of the vote.
The elections are expected to be the most-watched in the island’s history amid Trump’s renewed interest in taking over Greenland.
However, neither Denmark nor Greenland are keen to greenlight US ownership of the island, as repeatedly expressed in response to Trump’s overtures.
Hours after Trump declared in his speech to a joint session of Congress last week that he intends to gain control of the island “one way or the other,” Egede responded firmly, saying “Greenland is ours.”
Formerly a Danish colony, Greenland achieved home rule in 1979 and remains a territory of Denmark.
In 2008, Greenland held a referendum where 75.5% of voters approved the Self-Government Act, which came into effect on June 21, 2009, granting Greenland greater autonomy within the Kingdom of Denmark while retaining Danish control over foreign policy, defense and security.