Aleqa Hammond, one of two Greenland’s representatives in the Danish Parliament, has been expelled from Siumut, her political party back home.
Siumut party secretary Mikael Petersen confirmed Hammond’s expulsion following a meeting of party leaders on Tuesday.
“Siumut can no longer stand behind her as an MP, so she has the option to leave the party or resign as an MP and let a deputy come in,” Petersen told DR Nyhder.
Hammond will continue as an independent member of parliament.
Credit card abuse
Hammond’s expulsion came as the result of revelations by Ekstra Bladet that she used a parliamentary credit card for nearly 13,000 kroner’s worth of personal expenses. The card is intended only for use on expenses – such as travel – incurred while doing parliamentary business.
READ MORE: Hammond out: Greenlanders to the polls
Hammond’s excuse that she had only used the credit card because her own personal card had been misused did not fly back at home.
“She used the card for personal expenses, and we cannot accept that,” said Petersen.
“We have tried to help her before; Siumut has had major problems resulting from her behaviour while she was the leader of Greenland’s government, and now this. We have to clean house.”
Not the first time
Parliament will now reclaim 13,000 kroner of Hammond’s salary.
Just 18 months ago, Hammond was forced to resign as Greenland’s premier after an audit committee stated she had spent over 200,000 kroner in government funds on personal use.
