One thing is certain: Mark Rutte will not be the new Prime Minister. Everything else is open during the elections that will be held in the Netherlands on Wednesday. They present themselves as “extremely exciting”, with several parties wanting to become the largest. Follow all developments here LIVE.
Geert Wilders’ PVV is by far the largest party in the first exit poll
Geert Wilders’ PVV has become the largest party in the House of Representatives elections with 35 seats, according to an Ipsos exit poll. GroenLinks-PvdA follows at a great distance with 26 seats. The liberal VVD would get 23 seats, Pieter Omtzigt’s New Social Contract (NSC) 20.
The first exit poll:
PVV 35
GL-PvdA 26
VVD 23
NSC 20
D66 10
BBB 7
CDA 5
SP 5
PVDD 4
Polls close, first exit poll coming soon
In the Netherlands, the polls close at 9 p.m. and the counting of votes can then begin. The public broadcaster NOS will announce the first results of a ballot box poll at the same time.
66% of Dutch people voted, less than in 2017
Until 7:45 p.m., 66 percent of those entitled to vote in the Netherlands have voted. This is reported by the research agency Ipsos. This means that turnout is currently lower than in 2017 when 73 percent of those eligible to vote had already voted in the House of Representatives elections at the same time.
The turnout in 2017 ultimately amounted to 81.6 percent. Comparing it with the 2021 elections would not be correct because voting was possible for three days due to the coronavirus pandemic. The polling stations close at 9 p.m.