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Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam far-right Party for Freedom and centrist D66 are tied with almost all votes counted in the Dutch general election in an unprecedented close race to become the largest party.
The approximate total count published by the Dutch national news agency ANP and cited by Dutch media showed each party winning 26 seats.
There is a fear that this close contest may delay starting the process of forming a new alliance. No previous Dutch election has ended in a tie for the lead between the two parties.
D66 has remarkably almost tripled its number of seats, the biggest gain in the polls, a sharp contrast to Mr Wilders’ party, which has fallen well short of its 2023 record.
“This is the best result ever for D66,” 38-year-old party leader Rob Jetten told a crowd of party insiders and media after being greeted with chants of the party’s optimistic election slogan “Het kan well”, or “It is possible”.
In the 150-seat House of Representatives, Mr Wilder’s Party for Freedom is projected to lose 11 seats, while D66 is projected to gain 17 seats.
Mr Wilders insisted that his party, known by its Dutch acronym PVV, should take the leading role in coalition talks if it is the largest.
He said, “Until there is 100% clarity on this, no D66 Scout can be launched. We will do everything possible to stop this.” A scout is an official appointed by the winning party to keep an eye on potential alliances.
But all the major mainstream parties Has refused to govern with Wilders after collapsing his last PVV-led coalitionDue to which he was left with no viable path to majority.
Jetten’s popularity surged in the last monthBecause he campaigned on promises to solve the housing shortage, invest in education, and tackle immigration concerns.
Wilders, one of Europe’s longest-serving populist leaders, is known for his anti-Islam stance and lives under constant security due to death threats.
He proposed denying all asylum requests – which would violate European Union Treaties – Deporting male Ukrainian refugees back to Ukraine, and stopping development aid to finance energy and health care.
Wilders led his party to a spectacular first-place finish in the 2023 election and formed an all-conservative coalition, although his allies refused to endorse him as prime minister.
He toppled the government in June over its refusal to adopt his radical measures.
The Dutch election was seen as a test of whether far right It may expand its reach or it may have reached its peak in some parts of Europe. The result may suggest there are limits to its enduring appeal.
At least four parties would be needed to form a ruling coalition in the Netherlands Parliament, with 76 seats needed. One scenario is a compromise including D66, the conservative Christian Democrats, the center-right VVD and the Greens-Labor Party.
However, forming a stable coalition is difficult and negotiations are expected to take several months.
Political scientist Henk van der Kolk said a possible path forward exists with a centrist coalition of the D66, the Labor Party and the centre-left bloc of the Green Left, the centre-right Christian Democrats and the right-wing People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
In another outcome of the vote, former European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said he was leaving Dutch politics after the centre-left faction he led lost seats in the election it was expected to win.
“The election is unlikely to spell the end of populism in the Netherlands,” said Armida van Rij, senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform think tank.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report