Centrist party wins Dutch knife-edge election, as far-right Wilders faces defeat

The centrist D66 party won the knife-edge Dutch election, local news agency ANP projected on Friday, saying its vote tally showed far-right leader Geert Wilders could not close the gap.

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That would put D66 leader Rob Jetten on track to become the youngest leader of the European Union’s fifth-largest economy, but lengthy coalition negotiations lie ahead.

ANP’s projections were immediately cited by multiple Dutch news outlets, including public broadcaster NOS.

With just one constituency and overseas postal votes still to be counted, Jetten holds a razor-thin lead of 15,155 votes over Wilders.

The postal votes are already being counted in The Hague, but the result will not be announced before Monday evening at the earliest.

Leader of the PVV, Geert Wilders, speaks to journalists on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Leader of the PVV, Geert Wilders, speaks to journalists on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Expats have historically broken for more centrist and left-wing parties. At the last election in 2023, D66 outscored the PVV by nearly 3,000 postal votes.

  

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