World Bulletin/News Desk

Greenland's main opposition leader, who campaigned on a platform of greater control and higher taxes of foreign miners, gained the biggest number of votes in a national parliamentary election, underscoring a backlash against the island's fast globalisation.

Aleqa Hammond's Siumut party won around 42 percent of votes, or around 14 seats in the 31-seat parliament, meaning she will need to form a coalition. Prime Minister Kuupik Kleist won around 34 percent of votes, according to official results published by Greenland's national KNR broadcaster.

The opening up of Greenland, a country of 57,000 that is a quarter the size of the United States, to foreign miners has sparked a huge debate among its traditional Inuit people, many of whom fear both Chinese influence and environmental damage