The autonomous Danish territory of Greenland is voting in legislative elections, after a campaign focused on a disputed mining project, as the Arctic island confronts first-hand the effects of global warming.
Greenland’s two main parties contesting in Tuesday’s election are divided on whether to authorise a giant rare earth and uranium mining project.
Supporters, including the ruling social-democratic Siumut party, say the mine would yield an economic windfall. Opponents, such as the opposition left-green IA party, argue it could harm the vast island’s unspoiled environment.
Greenland’s geostrategic location and massive mineral reserves have raised international interest, as evidenced by former US President Donald Trump’s swiftly rebuffed offer to buy it in 2019.
The election campaign for parliament’s 31 seats has also centred on fishing – the main driver of Greenland’s economy.
And at a time when young Greenlanders are reconnecting with their Inuit roots and questioning their Danish colonial heritage, social issues and cultural identity have also been part of the debate.
Polling stations open for the island’s 35,000 voters at 1100 GMT and close at 2200 GMT, with the final results expected early Wednesday.
Greenland plans to grow its economy by developing its fishing, mining and tourism sectors, as well as agriculture in the southern part of the island which is ice-free year-round.
“To harvest sustainably the living natural resources, like fish stocks, is going to be the most long-term (solution) for Greenland,” Minik Rosing, a geobiology professor at the University of Copenhagen, told AFP.
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