February 18, 1999
Greenland parliament shifts to the left
Ruling Siumut party could form a leftist coalition with socialists following national elections on Tuesday
JACK HICKS
Special to Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT — Greenlandic voters gave the island's ruling social-democratic Siumut party the mandate to lead a leftist coalition government on Tuesday, following elections marked by sizable socialist gains.
The Siumut party, which has governed alone or in coalition for 20 years, increased its share of the vote to 9,897 — winning 11 seats in the Landsting, as Greenland's parliament is called.
That's one seat fewer than the last election.
The liberal Atassut party saw its vote fall by more than 500 votes to 7,100 — earning eight seats. That's two fewer than in 1995.
Five independent candidates not aligned to either of these parties were also elected — an increase of four over the last election.
But it was the socialist Inuit Ataqatigiit party that enjoyed the most substantial increase in support. Inuit Ataqatigiit's vote grew by more than 1,000 to 6,194 — and added a seat, bringing to seven the number of socialists in the Landsting.
Tuesday's election was the seventh in Greenland since the island achieved home rule from Denmark in 1979, and the results reflect long-term political trends.
The Siumut vote is stable, and the party remains especially popular among women.
Atassut's support is eroding, while Inuit Ataqatigiit's popularity rises with each election. The socialist party is especially popular with younger voters.
Jonathon Motzfeldt, who has served as Premier for 14 of the last 20 years, is expected to lead a new coalition government, but not necessarily with Atassut, with whom Siumut has been in coalition since 1995.
With growing support for the socialists, Siumut could partner with Inuit Ataqatigiit.
Tuesday's election was the first to employ a new method of selecting members of the Landsting.
New electoral rules
In previous elections the country was divided into eight regions, with special attention being paid to East Greenland and the Thule district in the far northwest.
During this week's election, the entire country was one big electoral district, with voters able to cast their vote for one person out of 206 names on the ballot.
The 31 seats in the Landsting were divided up according to the percentage of vote obtained by each party, with the most popular candidates from each party being elected.
The reason for making this change was to attempt to reduce the degree of local and regional politics in the legislature.
Greenlanders are openly discussing independence from Denmark and political leaders want to see a Landsting with a national, even international vision.
All told, voter turnout on Tuesday was 75 per cent.
Fourteen of 31 legislators were elected for the first time. Six women were elected, an increase of one from the last election.
Fourteen of the lawmakers are registered as living in Nuuk, Greenland's capital. Two members of the new Landsting come from East Greenland, but no candidate from the Thule district was elected.