The social liberal party D66 won Wednesday’s early parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. The anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV), which won the regular elections in 2023, came in second place. This follows from exit polls published by public broadcaster NOS after polling stations closed. TASR informs about it with reference to the agencies DPA and Reuters.
According to exit polls, the D66 party (Democrats 66) won in the 150-member lower chamber of the parliament 27 seats, i.e. 18 more than two years ago. The PVV should have 25 mandates, i.e. for a change 18 less than after the previous elections. The liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) finished third with 23 seats. which was in power from October 2010 to July 2024, when Mark Rutte was prime ministerthe current Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO).
The bloc of the Green Left and the Labor Party surprisingly fell to fourth place (GL/PvdA) led by former European climate commissioner Frans Timmermans, which lost five seats and has only 20. The Christian Democratic Challenge (CDA) also entered the parliament, which according to forecasts will have 19 deputies.
If the vote count confirms these data, the 38-year-old D66 leader Rob Jetten will most likely become the youngest Dutch prime minister and the first head of governmentwho openly declares his homosexuality. According to dutchnews.nl, exit polls also show that at least four parties will be needed to form a new coalition with the support of at least 76 MPs. The first partial results based on the tallied votes are expected during the night.
Early parliamentary elections were triggered by the departure of the PVV from the coalition government in early June due to a dispute over migration. The cabinet, composed of four parties, was characterized as the most right-wing in the history of the Netherlands, writes DPA. Wilders, who was not a member of the government, he justified his departure from the coalition by the fact that the other three partners do not support the implementation of a tough anti-immigration policy. The PVV will most likely not be in the new government, as the other major parties have ruled out a coalition with it.
