Opposition wins Greenland’s election

Greenland’s main opposition party has won a landslide victory in the island’s legislative elections.
 
The leftist Inuit or Eskimo Brotherhood party nearly doubled its share from 2005, taking almost 44 percent of the ballot. The party’s leader Kuupik Kleist, who is also a popular pop star on the island, hailed the result. 
 
The Social Democrat Siumut party, led by outgoing Prime Minister Hans Enoksen, got just over 26 percent of the ballot. He had called the election ahead of greater self-rule under plans passed last November to gain independence from Denmark.  
 
Under the new status, Greenland will control its vast mineral and oil resources, splitting potential revenues with Denmark. It will also eventually take charge of other areas of responsibility, including justice and legal affairs.

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tags: Denmark, Greenland, Independence