Citizens in Greenland’s capital Nuuk have until Tuesday to cast a vote which will determine the future of of a controversial statue after advocates recently called for its removal.

Greelandic media, KNR, reported a total of 555 votes for a statue of the Danish-Norwegian coloniser and priest, Hans Egede, to remain while 324 were against it.

The result of the polls were to be relayed to the municipal council, which shall announce a decision on the fate of the monument on September 2.

Activists wrote ‘Decolonize’
Egede’s statue was vandalised in Greenland in June when activists argued that it reminded the islanders of trauma from their colonial past.

On the eve of Greenland’s National Day, the police said that activists poured red paint on the statue and wrote “Decolonize” on it.

Some historians credit Egede for preventing Greenland from being a British colony while Inuit activists believe his statue represents the silencing of indigenous people.

The BLM debate
The monument has been the subject of debate following a global anti-statue campaign arising from the Black Lives Matter movement fuelled by the killing of African-American man George Floyd in May.

The movement has primarily targeted slave traders and colonisers.

Elsewhere in the world, statues have been contentious for honouring leaders linked to racism and colonisation.