General elections were held in
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
on 24 April 2018, electing all 31 members of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. 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
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Kim Kielsen
Kim Kielsen (born 30 November 1966) is a Greenlandic politician, who served as leader of the Siumut party and sixth prime minister of Greenland between 2014 and 2021.
Careers Past careers
Kielsen was originally a mariner, and then a police office ...
chose to call the elections seven months early. His
Siumut
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 Ministe ...
party remained the largest in Parliament, but lost two seats, whilst
Inuit Ataqatigiit
Inuit Ataqatigiit (, , da, Folkets Samfund) 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 increas ...
, the second-largest party, lost three seats. The smaller
Democrats and
Partii Naleraq
Naleraq (, ), previously known as Partii Naleraq, is a centrist-populist pro-independence political party in Greenland.
History
In January 2014 Hans Enoksen announced that he was forming a new political party after leaving Siumut. In the 2014 G ...
gained seats, with the newly formed
Cooperation Party
The Cooperation Party ( da, Samarbejdspartiet; kl, Suleqatigiissitsisut) is a Greenlandic liberal party founded in March 2018 by Inatsisartut MPs Michael Rosing and Tillie Martinussen, both formerly of the Democrats.
The party advocates economi ...
and
Nunatta Qitornai
Nunatta Qitornai ( da, Vort lands efterkommere, en, Descendants of Our Land) is a separatist political party in Greenland advocating independence. It was founded in September 2017 by former Minister of Business, Labour, Trade and Foreign Affair ...
parties both entering Parliament.
Background
The 2014 general elections saw
Siumut
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 Ministe ...
receive a narrow plurality of the vote, but win the same number of seats as
Inuit Ataqatigiit
Inuit Ataqatigiit (, , da, Folkets Samfund) 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 increas ...
(11). A
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
was formed by
Siumut
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 Ministe ...
,
Democrats and
Atassut
Atassut ( en, Cohesion / Link / Togetherness / Solidarity; also referred to as Feeling of Community) is a liberal-conservative and unionist political party in Greenland. Founded on 29 April 1978, Atassut is an established partner of the Libera ...
which lasted until 2016, when Siumut formed a new coalition with Inuit Ataqatigiit and
Partii Naleraq
Naleraq (, ), previously known as Partii Naleraq, is a centrist-populist pro-independence political party in Greenland.
History
In January 2014 Hans Enoksen announced that he was forming a new political party after leaving Siumut. In the 2014 G ...
. Kim Kielsen from Siumut has led both governments.
During the 2014–2018 parliamentary term, both Atassut MPs defected to Simumut, while Michael Rosing left the Democrats to sit as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
Electoral system
The 31 members of Parliament are elected by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
in multi-member constituencies. Seats are allocated using the
d'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
.
New parties
Two new parties contested the elections, the unionist and
socially liberal
Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...
Cooperation Party
The Cooperation Party ( da, Samarbejdspartiet; kl, Suleqatigiissitsisut) is a Greenlandic liberal party founded in March 2018 by Inatsisartut MPs Michael Rosing and Tillie Martinussen, both formerly of the Democrats.
The party advocates economi ...
(''Suleqatigiissitsisut'') founded by Michael Rosing, and the
pro-independence Nunatta Qitornai
Nunatta Qitornai ( da, Vort lands efterkommere, en, Descendants of Our Land) is a separatist political party in Greenland advocating independence. It was founded in September 2017 by former Minister of Business, Labour, Trade and Foreign Affair ...
(''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
Vittus Qujaukitsoq (born October 5, 1971 in Qaanaaq, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark) is a Greenlandic politician. Qujaukitsoq was appointed as Minister of Finance and Interior of Aleqa Hammond cabinet from May 2013 to November 2014. After Novembe ...
after a dispute over the government's approach toward Denmark. He eventually left Siumut following an unsuccessful leadership challenge to Kim Kielsen.
Landets nyeste partier kan stille op til Inatsisartut-valget
Sermitsiaq, 16 March 2018
Opinion polls
Results
References
External links
General Election Results
Qinersineq
{{Greenlandic elections
Elections in Greenland
2018 in Greenland
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...