Copenhagen, 11 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) – Greenland goes to the polls on Tuesday under the shadow of moves by US President Donald Trump to incorporate the island into the United States.

More than 40,000 eligible voters will be able to cast their ballots from 9 am local time (1100 GMT). Polling stations are set to close at 8 pm. Provisional results are expected in the early hours of Wednesday.

All 31 seats in the autonomous Danish territory's parliament, the Inatsisartut in Nuuk, are up for election.

The debate on Greenland's future unleashed by Trump's declaration of interest has overshadowed the electoral campaign, with politicians from both Greenland and Denmark rejecting US claims.

According to an opinion poll, only a small minority would be in favour of becoming part of the US.

Prime Minister Múte B. Egede has stressed repeatedly: "We do not wish to be Danes. We also do not wish to be Americans. We wish to be Greenlanders."

Egede has declared he would be open to greater economic cooperation with the US in exploiting the island's mineral resources.

Greenland is also home to a major US military base, the Pituffik Space Base, on its north-western coast.

While Greenland is largely autonomous, foreign affairs and defence are run by the government in Copenhagen. 

Photo: EPA