Greenland’s voters unexpectedly picked a party backing a slower approach to independence in a general election overshadowed by Donald Trump’s plans to take over the Arctic Island.

The social liberal Demokraatit party emerged as the biggest with 29.9% of the ballots as counting was completed, adding more than 20 percentage points from four years ago, according to the tally published by the government on Wednesday.

Naleraq, the party seeking the fastest breakup with Denmark, finished second, underscoring how split the population is on the topic. The group, which had led the count early on, came out with 24.5% of the votes — up from 12% in the prior election.

It’s expected that Demokraatit, which sees independence as a longer-term goal, will start coalition negotiations to form a governing majority in the coming days.

“There is a need for unity, so we will enter into negotiations with everyone,” party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said during the election night coverage on local broadcaster KNR. “Greenland needs to stand together in a time of great interest from the outside.”

All parties in the election are in favor of independence, but disagree on the how and when. The new 31-member parliament will now be crucial in defining Greenland’s path to become its own nation, expanding from its current self-rule within the Kingdom of Denmark.

The election took place just a week after the U.S. president in a speech to Congress reaffirmed his interest in the world’s largest island, voicing confidence he will be able to take control over it.

During a debate aired on KNR ahead of the election, Nielsen was among party leaders that expressed concern that Trump can’t be trusted.

“Greenland is not a house you can buy. When you see the way Trump is speaking, we need to be tougher in our tone,” he said in the debate, according to KNR.

Nielsen, 33, was elected into the Greenland parliament for the first time in 2021 and has since campaigned on a platform to support local businesses, particularly in the fishing, mining and tourism industry.

Greenland’s parliament has historically been dominated by socialist and left-leaning parties, and a win for Demokraatit was highly unexpected. The party stood to become the third largest with about 19% support in a Verian poll, commissioned by Danish newspaper Berlingske and Greenland’s Sermitsiaq publication at the end of January.

The result is an upset for Prime Minister Mute B. Egede, who emerged as Greenland’s top diplomat, standing up to Trump. His leftist Inuit Ataqatigiit party fell to third place and with its coalition partner Siumut got about 36% of the vote between them, compared with about 66% four years earlier.

While both parties have distanced themselves from Trump’s advances, they have still campaigned on increasing independence from Denmark. Egede earlier this year urged Greenland to remove “the shackles of the colonial era.” Siumut, a social democratic party, has indicated it wants to start independence talks with Denmark in the coming election term.

The vote comes as Greenland’s geopolitical importance is rising. Located in the far north between the U.S. and Europe, the island is home to an American military base that monitors space and detects missile threats, and it holds large reserves of the critical minerals used in electronic devices, which are becoming more accessible as its vast polar ice sheets melt. It is also expected to be a key part of global shipping routes in the coming decades.

All in all, 28,620 people in the sparsely populated territory cast a ballot, bringing turnout to 70.9%, up from 65.9% in the previous election. Outside the voting venue in Nuuk, political parties held small rallies, handing out cake and merchandise to people passing by in the sunshine.

Niels Kronholm, a 48-year-old public sector worker living in the capital, said he had planned to vote in the evening to avoid queues, but still was met with huge masses of people when he arrived about an hour before the polling station was about to close.

“There have been outside voices that make people want to cast their vote,” he said afterward. It should be a given to vote, but I think Trump has actually gotten people off the couch this time.”

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With assistance from Thomas Hall and Ott Ummelas.

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