Far-right leads in Dutch parliamentary elections, ruling party only third - exit poll

In the Netherlands, the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, a longtime opponent of Islam and migration who does not support aid to Ukraine, may take the lead in early parliamentary elections. The voting took place on November 22 and the official results will be announced by the country's electoral council only on the morning of December 1.

According to NOS, the ballots will be counted in one or two days, but exit polls are already being published. The preliminary forecast, based on 98% of the votes counted, shows that the PVV has won 37 seats in parliament - two more than the exit poll predicted and 20 more than the party currently has.

It is followed by the alliance of the Left-Greens and Labor (GroenLinks-PvdA), led by former European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, with 25 seats.

The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of current Prime Minister Mark Rutte, which is now led by Dylan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, can count on 24 seats. The newly formed New Social Contract (NSC) political party, led by Peter Omzigt, is expected to win 20 seats.

The new Farmers' Citizens' Union (BBB), formed against the backdrop of farmers' protests in the Netherlands, can count on seven seats.

All parties from the current coalition with the VVD have significantly worsened their results: "Democracy 66 (D66) gets nine seats, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) gets five, and the Christian Union (CU) gets three.

A total of 26 parties were registered to run in the elections and about 9,823 polling stations were opened. Voter turnout reached 77.8%, which is slightly less than in the 2021 House of Representatives elections.

According to the law, the ruling coalition in the Dutch parliament must have more than half, i.e. at least 76 out of 150 seats. This process is complicated and can take months, especially given that many parties have previously rejected the option of uniting with the PVV and Wilders, not sharing his views. After the elections, the Netherlands will face a long process of coalition formation.

Geert Wilders has spoken out against aid to Ukraine

In his election program, the politician called for a referendum on the country's withdrawal from the EU and closing the borders to refugees. He supported the ban on the Koran, Muslim schools and mosques in the Netherlands.

In May 2023, Wilders refused to attend a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Dutch House of Representatives. He also criticized the opening of the EU market for Ukrainian farmers.

In addition, Wilders's party promised its voters to stop supporting Ukraine, both militarily, politically, and economically.

As OBOZ.UA wrote earlier:

- Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said that the country would allocate more than 2 billion euros to help Ukraine in 2024. These funds will mainly be used for military support.

- Earlier, Ollongren supported the idea of former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen about Ukraine's so-called partial accession to the Alliance without guarantees for the occupied territories. In her opinion, this initiative is a "creative idea".

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