Elections in the Netherlands

Even race in the Netherlands – D66 and PVV on equal seats

With over 97 percent of the votes counted in the Netherlands, both the social liberal center party D66 and the far-right PVV are on 26 seats, several media outlets report.

According to the newspaper De Telegraaf, D66 has only about 2,300 votes more than the PVV. However, several municipalities, including several that have previously favored the PVV, have not yet reported their results.

In addition, almost 20 percent of the votes remain in the capital Amsterdam, which are expected to be counted on Friday – which could give D66 thousands of additional votes.

As things stand right now, D66 has increased by 17 seats compared to the previous election, while the PVV has lost eleven seats since then, according to NOS. 

Victory-confident D66 leader believes in stable coalition

The Dutch election looks set to be close, but is leaning towards a victory for the centre-liberal D66 party, while the far-right PVV party is heading towards an anticlimax.

After exit polls were published on Wednesday evening, both PVV leader Geert Wilders and D66 leader Rob Jetten said that “the voters have spoken.”

“They have clearly given us a victory and Wilders a loss,” Jetten said, according to Reuters, adding that a stable coalition could be possible.

Wilders’ message is that the result is not what he had hoped for, that they will continue to grow in the upcoming elections and threaten to bring down a D66-led government.

Wilders’ rise in Dutch politics has led to instability. After a long government formation process, he brought down the government over a row over asylum policy, which forced the snap election he now looks set to lose.

A final result is expected to take a few days.