Greenland's Voters Deliver Shock After Election in Shadow of Trump Threats

Greenland has voted for a total overhaul of its government in a shock result in which the center-right Democrats more than tripled their seats after a dramatic election campaign fought against the backdrop of Donald Trump's threats to acquire the island.

- Miranda Bryant

Tuesday's election, in which the Democrats replaced Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), the party of the former prime minister Múte B Egede, as the biggest party in the Greenlandic parliament, also led to a doubling of seats for Naleraq - the party most open to collaboration with the US and which supports a snap vote on independence.

The Democrats and Naleraq both favor independence from Denmark but differ on the pace of change, with Naleraq favoring a faster pace than the Democrats.

The result surprised even the Democrats' leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The party won 10 seats, an increase of seven on the last election and three more than its previous record of seven in 2005. It was not considered one of the key players, with most attention on IA, Naleraq and Siumut, IA's coalition partner.

While the Democrats have been involved in several coalitions, they have never led a government, as they are expected to after coalition talks.

There are a total of 31 seats in the Greenlandic parliament, with 16 needed for a majority. IA went from 12 seats to seven - making it the third-biggest party.