This liveblog is closing now. You can read a full report on the general election here. Thank you for reading.
Summary of the evening
Dutch voters cast their ballots in a snap parliamentary election on Wednesday called after the collapse of the outgoing coalition government headed by Mark Rutte.
Geert Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) is on course to be the largest party in the Dutch parliament, according to exit polls, in a major electoral upset whose reverberations will be felt around Europe.
It is unclear whether Wilders – who has always been shut out of government – will be able to win enough support to form a coalition. He said this evening that “no party can ignore us any longer”.
Exit polling put the PVV at 35 seats. The Green-Labour alliance, led by Frans Timmermans, has 25 seats, while the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), led by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, got 24 seats, according to the polling.
Yeşilgöz-Zegerius said “it is big lesson to politicians. They haven’t listened enough to the people and haven’t offered enough workable solutions”.
Far right figures from across the continent, including Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Santiago Abascal, celebrated the PVV’s performance.
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said that “the winds of change are here”.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said the Dutch election is “a reminder to progressives everywhere – the continued threat of the far-right is real and on our doorstep”.
Read more here and stay tuned for more coverage on the Guardian site.
Updated
Geert Wilders: the Dutch far-right figurehead sending a chill across Europe
Known for his distinctive platinum-blond hairstyle and his aggressive anti-Islam and anti-immigration rhetoric, Geert Wilders has been catapulted by the Dutch elections to the place he loves most to be: at the centre of attention.
From describing Islam as “an ideology of a retarded culture” and calling Moroccans “scum”, Wilders, who is often compared to president Donald Trump for his inflammatory rhetoric and his use of social media, has long been a prominent fixture in the European far-right landscape.
Born in 1963 in southern Venlo, close to the German border, Wilders grew up in a Catholic family with his brother and two sisters. He entered politics as a member of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), but left over what he saw as the party’s mild stance on Islam and immigration.
He founded the Freedom party (PVV) in 2004, placing anti-Islam policies at the heart of his party. Wilders said his disdain for Islam was fuelled by the assassination of the radical anti-Islam filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004 and his time spent in Israel on a kibbutz.
Read the full profile here.
The PVV has become the largest party in Rotterdam, while the Green-Labour alliance received the most votes in the city of Groningen, NOS reports.
The PVV has become the largest party in 25 out of the 32 municipalities that reported election results thus far, NRC reports.
It was not an easy night for the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and its leader, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.
Here are photos from the VVD’s event this evening, from Senay Boztas.
Updated
Geert Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) is on course to be the largest party in the Dutch parliament, according to exit polls, in a major electoral upset whose reverberations will be felt around Europe.
The PVV, whose manifesto includes calls for bans on mosques, the Quran and Islamic headscarves in government buildings, was predicted to win 35 seats in the 150-seat parliament, more than double the number it won in the previous 2021 ballot.
However, it is unclear whether Wilders – whose party has finished second and third in previous elections, but always been shut out of government – will be able to win enough support to form a coalition with a working parliamentary majority.
Wilders, who has been under police protection since 2004 and in 2016 was convicted of discrimination after he called Moroccans “scum” at a campaign rally, is likely to start sounding other party leaders out on Friday.
Although the party that wins the most seats traditionally provides the next prime minister, it is by no means guaranteed to do so. Mark Rutte will remain in a caretaker role until a new government is installed, which might not be before next spring.
Tom van der Meer, a political scientist at the University of Amsterdam, described the result as “the biggest shift we have ever seen in the Netherlands”. Wilders had surged a wave of anti-immigration sentiment and frustration with cross-party coalitions, he told the public broadcaster NOS.
Jon Henley, Pjotr Sauer and Senay Boztas
Read the full story here.
Geert Wilders thanks PVV voters.
PVV-STEMMERS BEDANKT! ❤️#verkiezingen2023 pic.twitter.com/qWKf4Axa6j
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) November 22, 2023
Updated
The leader of Spain’s far right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, has congratulated Geert Wilders.
“More and more Europeans demand in the streets and at the polls that their nations, their borders and their rights be defended,” he said.
Felicidades @geertwilderspvv.
— Santiago Abascal 🇪🇸 (@Santi_ABASCAL) November 22, 2023
Cada vez más europeos exigen en la calle y en las urnas que se defiendan sus naciones, sus fronteras y sus derechos. https://t.co/orT1wajE23
Updated
As we wait for results, here are more photos from election night in the Netherlands.
Updated
Historian and commentator Timothy Garton Ash says the news from the Netherlands is “exactly what we have started to fear for European elections next year”.
Shocking news from the Netherlands of election triumph for Geert Wilders… exactly what we have started to fear for European elections next year…#Wilders #Nederland
— Timothy Garton Ash (@fromTGA) November 22, 2023
Dutch election 'reminder' of far-right 'threat', London mayor says
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has weighed in on the Dutch election exit polling.
“A reminder to progressives everywhere – the continued threat of the far-right is real and on our doorstep,” he wrote on social media, adding: “The next year is going to be pivotal for standing up for and defending our values - in London, in Europe and across the world.”
Updated
Tom Van Grieken, leader of Belgian far right party Vlaams Belang, also congratulated Geert Wilders.
“It is clear: the population is yearning for real change,” he said, adding: “Not only in the Netherlands, but also in Flanders. Parties like ours are coming all over Europe!
“Ik wens @geertwilderspvv van harte te feliciteren met deze overwinning. Het is duidelijk: de bevolking smacht naar echte verandering. Niet alleen in Nederland, maar ook in Vlaanderen. Partijen als de onze komen eraan in heel Europa!” @tomvangriekenhttps://t.co/JtRNsNvGV4
— Vlaams Belang (@vlbelang) November 22, 2023
Everyone still belongs, Timmermans says
Frans Timmermans, the candidate for the Green-Labour alliance (GL-PvdA), has undercored that despite the exit poll results, everyone still belongs in today’s Netherlands.
“If you encounter people in the neighborhood, at school or at work in the coming days who think: do I still belong here? Then you say clearly: YES.”
Wij laten in Nederland niemand los.
— Frans Timmermans (@F__Timmermans) November 22, 2023
Als je in de komende dagen in de buurt, op school, of op je werk mensen tegenkomt die denken: hoor ik hier nog wel? Dan zeg je duidelijk: JA.
GroenLinks-PvdA is mede de linkse samenwerking aangegaan om te zeggen: we’ve got your back. pic.twitter.com/hnltspzCK8
Updated
Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini has also congratulated Geert Wilders.
“A new Europe is possible,” he said.
Congratulazioni all’amico @geertwilderspvv, leader del PVV 🇳🇱 e storico alleato della Lega, per questa straordinaria vittoria elettorale.
— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) November 22, 2023
Una nuova Europa è possibile: appuntamento domenica 3 dicembre a Firenze. pic.twitter.com/0DnRBG03Cp
Outcome 'disappointing' and 'big lesson', VVD leader says
Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, leader of the VVD, was perfectly styled as ever but struggled on stage to maintain her optimism in a very short speech on election night.
“For us, the result is disappointing,” she said. “I think that it is big lesson to politicians. They haven’t listened enough to the people and haven’t offered enough workable solutions. We will no longer lead the way but I am incredibly proud of the party.”
She congratulated the “winners” of the election, Geert Wilders, Frans Timmermans, Pieter Omtzigt “and of course the other winners”.
She added:
We want to keep going from today. This is a new chapter, we will keep building with the lessons that we have learned, and we will build a Netherlands that we believe in.
Yeşilgöz-Zegerius told Dutch media off stage it was unlikely the VVD would sit in a government under Wilders as prime minister.
“I have said that I don’t see that happening because Mr Wilders cannot form a majority,” she said. “But he has the lead, he is the big winner of the evening, and he needs to show if he can form a majority. I have said that I didn’t see that this country would have a leader who does not bring together all Dutch people, who is there for all of the Dutch, but above all I don’t see a majority forming”.
She denied that she had made a strategic error to open the door to Wilders, rather than excluding him as Mark Rutte had done for years.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “This is about the worries of people who don’t feel listened to.
This result clearly shows that the concerns of the voters that we have been hammering on for months, and that - not for nothing - the government fell over, are real. Politics in general hasn’t picked up on these worries and offered good solutions.
She did not express any regrets. “I thought it was a good campaign, we all did our best and the voter has spoken and that’s the good thing about democracy. Now Mr Wilders has the lead and we will see.”
The right wing block does not have appeared to grow much - from 62 seats to 63 votes, based on exit polling - but they have been concentrated on the PVV, Dutch political experts pointed out on the NOS.
To have a majority, a government needs 76 of 150 seats.
Updated
Geert Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) is on course to win the most seats in Dutch parliamentary elections, according to usually reliable exit polls, leaving the country facing months of fraught coalition negotiations.
The poll predicted Wilders’ party would win 35 seats in the 150-seat parliament, far ahead of a GreenLeft-Labour alliance (GL/PvdA) on 26 seats and the liberal-conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte.
With no party scoring more than 25% of the vote, however, coalition negotiations could prove even longer and more complex than after the previous 2019 elections when four coalition partners took a record 271 days to hammer out an agreement.
Most parties, including GL/PvdA and NSC, have ruled out entering a coalition with the PVV, and while Rutte’s VVD – now headed by outgoing justice minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius – has been open to the idea, it will not accept Wilders as prime minister.
The shape of the new coalition could have a major impact on the Netherlands’ immigration and climate policies as well as relations with its European partners.
Read the full story here.
More photos from a surprising election night in the Netherlands.
French far right politician Marine Le Pen has congratulated Geert Wilders and the PVV.
“Their spectacular performance,” she said, “confirms the growing attachment to the defence of national identities”.
Félicitations à @geertwilderspvv et au PVV pour leur performance spectaculaire aux législatives qui confirme l’attachement croissant à la défense des identités nationales. C’est parce qu’il est des peuples qui refusent de voir s’éteindre le flambeau national que l’espoir du…
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) November 22, 2023
Updated
Minorities are concerned about the performance of Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom.
Muhsin Köktas of the Contact Body for Muslims and Government (CMO) wonders whether muslims still have a future in the Netherlands. “Everyone is talking about social security, but I don’t know if we still have it,” he said, NOS reported.
Updated
Caroline van der Plas, leader of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), said she is happy with the 7 seats won and that with the party’s 16 senate seats, “no one can ignore us anymore”.
Heel blij met 7 zetels! De enige partij met 1 zetel die flink heeft geplust. Met de 16 Eerste Kamerzetels kan niemand meer om ons heen! Met @geertwilderspvv, @NwSocContract en GroenLinks-PvdA ook de enige partij die wijst heeft geboekt! Het Kabinet is afgestraft door de kiezer
— Caroline van der Plas (@lientje1967) November 22, 2023
Alternative for Germany is also celebrating the Dutch exit polls.
“Everywhere in Europe, citizens want political change,” the German far right party wrote on social media.
Gefeliciteerd @geertwilderspvv met dit grote succes. Overal in Europa willen de burgers een politieke verandering!
— AfD (@AfD) November 22, 2023
Herzlichen Glückwunsch an @geertwilderspvv zu diesem großen Erfolg. Überall in Europa wollen die Bürger den politischen Wechsel! #wilders #PVV…
More congratulations are pouring in from the European far right.
The Austrian Freedom Party’s Harald Vilimsky said “our political partners and friends are ahead almost everywhere”.
Unsere politischen Partner und Freunde haben fast überall die Nase vorne. Ich freue mich und gratuliere herzlich! #idgroup https://t.co/m3gnZGkLIs
— Harald Vilimsky (@vilimsky) November 22, 2023
Rem Korteweg, a senior research fellow at the Clingendael Institute, points out that – based on the exit polling – a coalition of VVD, NSC, GL/PvdA and D66 would have one seat more than a coalition consisting of PVV, VVD and NSC.
Op basis van exitpoll:
— Rem Korteweg (@remkorteweg) November 22, 2023
Coalitie 1: 78 zetels
Coalitie 2: 79 zetels (+ D66) https://t.co/vbCBheHqWf
Orbán congratulates Wilders: 'Winds of change are here'
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán was quick to offer his congratulations to far right Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
“The winds of change are here,” the Hungarian leader said.
The winds of change are here! Congratulations to @geertwilderspvv on winning the Dutch elections! pic.twitter.com/yh9LVcuP5J
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) November 22, 2023
Second exit poll result published
A second exit poll is now available.
Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom is still at 35 seats in this poll.
The Green-Labour alliance, led by Frans Timmermans, has 25 seats, while the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), led by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, got 24 seats, according to the second poll.
This exit poll, unlike the first, includes voters who cast ballots in the last half hour of voting.
'No party can ignore us', Wilders declares
Far-right leader Geert Wilders has addressed cheering supporters.
In his first reaction to the exit poll, the PVV leader said he wanted to form a government.
“No party can ignore us any longer after we got 35 seats,” he declared.
Far right figures across Europe, from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to France’s Marine Le Pen, congratulated Wilders.
Exit polling showed Wilders’ Party for Freedom with the most seats, followed by the Green-Labour alliance, led by Frans Timmermans, with 25 seats.
The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), led by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, got 24 seats, according to the exit polling.
Updated
Deflated mood at Green-Labour election party
There’s a tangibly deflated mood at the GroenLinks-PvdA election party in Amsterdam following the announcement of the first exit poll that showed the far-right Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders winning 35 seats, more than any other party.
GroenLinks-PvdA, an alliance between the two largest Dutch leftwing parties, GroenLinks (GL) and the Labour Party (PvdA), received 26 seats in the first exit poll.
“This is absolutely shocking. I don’t know what to say,” said Marc Schilderman, a longtime PvdA party member.
“I can’t believe almost a quarter of this country has voted for a party that goes against our constitutional rights,” he said, referring to Wilders’ pledges to shut down mosques and ban the Qur’an in the Netherlands.
Much will depend on a coalition-building process, with both the leader of GroenLinks-PvdA Frans Timmermans and the head of the socially liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, ruling out a government under Wilders.
“Let’s hope no one caves in and decides to form a coalition with Wilders. That way Timmermans can still become prime minister,” said Schilderman.
Updated
Tarik Abou-Chadi, an associate professor in European politics at the University of Oxford, says this evening that it’s “a watershed moment for liberal democracies”.
The Netherlands will join an increasingly long list of West European countries (CH, FR, IT, SE) where the radical right has overtaken the mainstream right has the main party of the right. A watershed moment for liberal democracies. pic.twitter.com/IFI98B7TK6
— Tarik Abou-Chadi (@tabouchadi) November 22, 2023
Shock in VVD camp
VVD members, in a packed room at the Fokker Terminal in The Hague, were shocked following the publication of a first exit poll showing the far right Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders got the most seats, by a stretch.
“I expected the results to be closer together,” said Jelleke van Rantwijk, 44, from The Hague. “I thought the VVD would lose seats - that’s not a shock if you have been in power for 13 years. But the PVV is a shock: 35 votes versus 23. But nobody wants to go with him.”
Bart de Bart, 35, from The Hague, said: “It’s a feeling like when Trump won. We never expected it. The people who voted for him are the losers of globalism but he won’t do anything for them. If we close the borders, we will lose jobs.”
Manon Stevens, 49, from Breda, said: “It’s kind of historic. But how can he be the prime minister for Muslims? I’m very curious. There’s no rule that the biggest party is the prime minister. But I think this is the least clear result we have ever had.”
Martijn Kooijman, another VVD member, said: “To put it mildly, this is a disappointment. It’s only the exit poll: it’s not the count. I expected we would lose six seats but not this - this is a big drop. I hoped we would be bigger than GreenLeft/Labour.”
Would the VVD work in a Wilders government? “We can try it,” he said. “He does stand for something. It is what it is.”
Updated
In a surprise twist, the first exit poll shows the far-right Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders winning 35 seats, more than any other party.
We’re now waiting for results. But even if the exit polling is confirmed as accurate, much will depend on a coalition-building process.
Updated
Wilders celebrates
Far right politician Geert Wilders has posted a video on social media as he celebrates the PVV winning the most seats, according to a first exit poll.
35!!!!!!
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) November 22, 2023
PVV GROOTSTE PARTIJ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/oMANVYvGjy
Here’s how other parties performed in the first exit poll, conducted by Ipsos:
D66: 10 seats
BBB: 7 seats
CDA: 5 seats
SP: 5 seats
PvdD: 4 seats
FvD: 3 seats
CU: 3 seats
SGP: 3 seats
Volt: 2 seats
Denk: 2 seats
JA21: 1 seat
50Plus: 1 seat
First exit poll published, after voting ends in Dutch election
Voting has ended in the Netherlands. A first exit poll, conducted by the Ipsos research agency, shows the far right Party for Freedom, led by Geert Wilders, got the most seats by a stretch.
However, the numbers may still shift during the evening as we wait for results, and much will now depend on a coalition-building process. Many parties have said they would not join a coalition with Wilders.
Here are the results of the exit poll:
Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders: 35 seats
Green-Labour alliance (GL/PvdA), led by Frans Timmermans: 26 seats
People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), led by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius: 23 seats
New Social Contract (NSC), led by Pieter Omtzigt: 20
Updated
The first exit poll is expected in about 20 minutes. Stay tuned!
More pictures from election day in the Netherlands.
Updated
Turnout by 7:45pm stood at 66%, according to Ipsos, NOS reported.
This is lower than turnout at the same time during the 2017 election.
Updated
At the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam, where a young Anne Frank hid from a Nazi occupation, the doors were open for the first time as a polling station – and after voting, people could see the museum and were given a small, red pencil inscribed with a quote from Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that no one has to wait a minute to change the world!”
Ronald Leopold, Executive Director of the Anne Frank House said that the museum had decided to welcome Amsterdammers as a recognition of the importance of democratic values. “The Anne Frank House calls attention to the vital importance of freedom, equal rights and democracy,” he said in a statement.
He added:
Anne Frank was born in a democratic country, but four years later her homeland had become a dictatorship. It’s important to realise that democracy is fragile and that we must cherish our democratic values. The right to vote is the foundation of our democratic rule of law.
Anne, 28, from Amsterdam, said:
I was on my way to the Westerkerk church, where I was going to vote and I thought this was an unusual location. It’s an extraordinary historical place of oppression and exclusion, to exercise your democratic right to vote. I knew which party to vote for, the person not so much. I voted for a woman from the GreenLeft/Labour. It’s not a strategic vote but I hope the PVV won’t win – I really hope it.
Mirjam Stoker, 52, from Amsterdam, went to the museum after voting for GreenLeft/Labour, having previously often voted Labour.
“Anne Frank couldn’t vote and we have the freedom to do it – so it seemed like a beautiful thing to do. You get a pencil you can keep, which is lovely.
I voted a bit strategically, and I hope that it is more left than right in the way it goes. I’m a bit scared of the PVV: government needs to stay a bit in the middle and I hope people keep talking. Wilders has said he won’t keep everything [in his manifesto] but that’s not my experience. But he was a good debater, the only one who could take on Rutte.”
Diana, 61, of Surinamese background but born in the Netherlands and from Amsterdam, said: “I voted for my children and my grandchildren. I don’t know if it’s left or right: I did the Stemwijzer voting tool.”
John, 62, an immigrant from Suriname who lives in Amsterdam, did not want to share the party he voted for but said he couldn’t understand the current issues around immigration. “I grew up with all kinds of nationalities,” he said. “I can’t understand all of the hate. History tells us how Jewish people were oppressed and now it’s happening again.”
Gesturing at the nearby Prinsengracht canal, glittering in the sunlight, he added: “The world is so beautiful and people spoil it. The birds fly, the fish swim, we are the evil-doers.”
Updated
What are the issues in the Dutch election today?
The last government fell over a bill to reduce asylum seekers, and cutting immigration – including foreign workers – remains a key issue for all main parties, as does the Dutch housing crisis: government-commissioned research suggests the country lacks 390,000 homes.
The green transition – and who will pay for it – is also high on the agenda amid heated debate in the the world’s second largest agricultural exporter, particularly over how to halve illegal nitrogen emission levels and by what date.
Government scandals – delays in compensation to earthquake victims living above the huge Groningen gas field; 20,000 families being wrongly accused of child benefit fraud, often on the basis of ethnicity – have also pushed trust in politics to the fore.
What happens after the vote?
Given the highly fragmented state of Dutch politics, what coalitions are possible is just as important as who actually wins. MPs first appoint an informateur, who sounds parties out and identifies possible alliances.
Once a viable coalition has been found, a formateur – usually the head of the largest party – begins negotiating and drawing up the formal coalition agreement. Last time around, the whole process took a record 271 days.
Read the full explainer here.
A steady stream of voters flocked on Wednesday afternoon to the iconic De Duif church in Amsterdam, which was repurposed for the day into a voting station.
Lisa, 28, an architect from Amsterdam who popped into the church to vote during her lunch break, said that she decided to vote “tactically” for the GreenLeft/Labour party to prevent Geert Wilders’ far-right party PVV from becoming the biggest.
Lisa said:
At first I wanted to vote for one of the smaller left-wing parties but once I saw the polls, I realised I had to vote for GreenLeft/Labour because I don’t want PVV to win. The environment and living conditions are the most important topics for me. I don’t foresee a left-wing government but this is the least I can do.
She added: “There is something grandiose about voting in De Duif … I love the stained glass windows and the massive church organ.”
Lisette, 47, a consultant from Amsterdam said she decided to vote for the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) because of the “long-term stability the party brings.”
Internationally, I have been very happy with the way VVD’s Mark Rutte has presented our country. Yes, mistakes have been made, but I believe the party will learn from them.
Masha Silaevo, a Dutch student with Russian roots said she only decided this morning that she would vote for the Progressive Party for the Animals.
Silaevo said:
It was a last-minute decision, I thought about it a lot. Many of my left-leaning friends are voting strategically for GreenLeft/Labour because they hope the party becomes the biggest. I thought about it too, but there are a few topics that I disagree with them on, including their lack of support for Palestine. In the end, I wanted to stick to my convictions.
Stijn, 26, a student living in Amsterdam who grew up on a farm in the countryside, said he voted for the pro-farmer BBB movement.
I voted for the Farmer-citizen movement (BBB) because I know how hard it is for them. My parents are farmers and I know first-hand how much they struggle. Other parties go too far with their climate change proposals which is hurting normal working-class people. I don’t agree with everything that BBB proposes but I appreciate how they are trying to help the countryside.
Ruben Charbon, a small business owner in Amsterdam, said:
I voted for GreenLeft/Labour because of our future. As I got older, I started thinking less about what benefits me directly and more about our role on this planet and about climate change. The climate is one of my main reasons for voting for GreenLeft/Labour. I hope we can avoid a right-wing government, although I am not very optimistic.
Updated
Here are photos of candidates Frans Timmermans, Geert Wilders and Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius casting their ballots earlier today.
Updated
Netherlands set for first new prime minister in 13 years as voters head to polls
Dutch voters have voted in a knife-edge general election that will usher in the country’s first new prime minister in 13 years, with four parties from left to far right vying to become the largest in parliament.
With the latest polls indicating a rise in support for Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), the final days of campaigning have been marked by discussion over tactical voting and possible coalition arrangements.
The leader of the largely economically and socially liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, has broken precedent by saying she would work with Wilders if her party garnered the most votes – although on Tuesday she ruled out supporting him as prime minister if he won the largest share.
If the VVD triumphs, Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, a former refugee who champions stricter migration controls, could become the Netherlands’ first female prime minister.
Frans Timmermans, the former EU heavyweight who returned to the Netherlands to lead a GreenLeft/Labour alliance, has appealed to voters to keep out a government in which the far-right plays a role. According to EenVandaag research, it appears to be having an effect, with almost half of his supporters voting strategically for him instead of smaller parties.
Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the New Social Contract (NSC) – a new centre-right party campaigning for better governance and controlled immigration – has also said he will not enter a coalition that contained Wilders’ party.
Read the full story here.
Updated
A first exit poll in the Dutch election is expected at 9pm, with an updated one at 9.30pm.
By 3.45pm, 40% of 13 million voters had voted – slightly less than the figures in 2017 at the same time (43%). Pundits are not comparing today’s election to the 2021 one because, due to coronavirus, voters had three days to vote.
Updated
Welcome to the Dutch election blog
Good evening and welcome to a special edition of the Europe blog, focusing on the Dutch election.
Voters across the Netherlands voted today in a knife-edge general election. Stay tuned for exit polls, results and reactions throughout the evening.
Send tips and comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
