NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Polls opened in Greenland for early parliamentary elections Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks control of the strategic Arctic island.
The self-governing region of Denmark is home to 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, and occupies a strategic North Atlantic location. It also contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.
Unofficial election results should be available soon after polls close at 2200 GMT Tuesday, but they won’t be certified for weeks as ballot papers make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.
A woman reads her ballot during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
While the island has been on a path toward independence since at least 2009, a break from Denmark isn’t on the ballot even though it’s on everyone’s mind. Voters on Tuesday will instead elect 31 lawmakers who will shape the island’s debate on when and if to declare independence in the future.
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Polls indicate support for Greenland’s independence
The mood was festive Tuesday at the sole polling station in Greenland ’s capital city, Nuuk. Election workers opened the polls to cheers at 1100 GMT.
Opinion polls show most Greenlanders favor independence. Most say they don’t dislike Americans, pointing to the good relations they have with the local Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, where U.S. military personnel have been stationed since 1951.
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
But Greenlanders show no sign of wanting to become Americans. Even some of Trump’s biggest fans cling to the principle that they should control their destiny: their mantra is that Greenland is open for business, but not for sale.
As Greenland is having a moment in the international spotlight, Jørgen Boassen has become its most ardent supporter for U.S. President Donald Trump, who maneuvers to gain control of the mineral-rich Arctic territory. (AP Video by Kwiyeon Ha)
“The situation has changed because of Trump and because of the world,” said Doris Jensen, representative of the social democratic Siumut party who said she has always favored independence. “So we have decided in our party that we have to do (it) more quickly.”
Trump’s attention has transformed the deeply local process of democracy. Suddenly, the presence of journalists from as far away as Japan and Croatia are reminders that these are far from normal times.
“Stop talking about Greenland. Stop,” Sofia Rossen said outside the polling station in Nuuk.
The island and the U.S. previously had a positive relationship, but no longer, she told The Associated Press, and solely due to Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., who visited the island earlier this year.
Rossen said Greenland’s future must be decided by its people.
“It is us, we are living here and we know what to do,” she said. “We are not for sale. We are not American, we won’t be Americans. We are not Dane, but we are part of the Danish community.”
When U.S. President Donald Trump first suggested buying Greenland in 2019, people thought it was just a joke. No one is laughing now.
“I think most of us have been scared since the new year because of (Trump’s) interest,” Pipaluk Lynge, a member of parliament from the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit party, told The Associated Press. “So we’re really, really looking to Europe right now to see if we could establish a stronger bond with them to secure our sovereign nation.”
After candidates’ final televised debate at a school auditorium in Nuuk, Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede was greeted by about 75 supporters who were almost outnumbered by photographers and cameramen.
“All these reporters are frightening to us,’’ said Aviaja Sinkbaek, who works at the school. “It means that something must be happening soon.”
She added: “I wonder what Trump has up his sleeve.”
A vast island draws outsize attention
Politics in Greenland have a different rhythm. Debates during campaigning rarely got heated. People who became too animated were asked to step outside. Issues included building a skilled workforce and how to decorate the new airport, which opened a runway long enough to handle jumbo jets in November.
On Tuesday, the capital’s lone polling station at the Nuuk sports hall had political parties pitching tents outside, with campaigners offering hot drinks and Greenlandic cake — a raisin-laced bread served with butter — in hopes of swaying voters.
A bus will circle the city of about 20,000 people, offering rides to polling stations.
Certifying results will take weeks as ballot papers make their way to Nuuk. That’s because there are no roads connecting communities across the island’s 2.16 million square kilometers (836,330 square miles). An independent Greenland would be the 12th-biggest country in the world by land mass.
Now the vast size has drawn outsize attention.
Greenlanders know what they have. They hope the rare earth minerals will help diversify an economy where government jobs account for 40% of employment.
But the government has imposed strict rules to protect the environment on the island, most of which is covered by ice year-round. The harsh atmospheric conditions raise questions about whether extracting them is commercially feasible.
Hurricane-strength gusts over the weekend triggered warnings for boats and building materials to be securely tied down. As the wind howled like a revving jet engine, local people retreated to their homes to play board games.
