Greenland Opposition Wins Amid Calls for Resource Taxation
Source: Bloomberg News
Greenlanders voted to oust the government, handing power to an opposition that has called for higher taxes and more oversight over mining companies and oil explorers seeking to tap the Arctic island’s natural resources.
The opposition Social Democrat Siumut party won 42.8 percent of the vote, up from 26.5 percent in 2009, according to results on the government election website. It will now seek to form a coalition after winning 14 of the 31 seats in the Nuuk home rule parliament. The ruling socialist Inuit Ataqatigiit party got 34.4 percent, down from 43.7 percent, as 74 percent of the island’s 40,588 registered voters cast their ballot.
“There was dissatisfaction with the current style of leadership,” Siumut leader Aleqa Hammond said after yesterday’s victory, according to newspaper Sermitsiaq. “There has been a great lack of transparency when it comes to natural resource projects, problems for the fishing industry and a lack of construction outside of Nuuk.”
Hammond has campaigned to take royalties from foreign companies as soon as they start operations on the island while current IA Prime Minister Kuupik Vandersee Kleist has favored waiting to tax mining companies until exploration becomes profitable.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/greenland-vote-focuses-on-offshore-access-to-natural-resources.html
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