D66 Keeps Top Spot in Dutch Elections
(MENAFN) The Dutch centrist party D66 maintained its lead in parliamentary elections on Tuesday after all postal votes from citizens abroad were tallied, according to final projections from the ANP news agency.
With 26 seats in the 150-seat parliament, D66 remains the largest party, ahead of Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), which was unable to close the gap despite the addition of overseas ballots.
The Socialist Party (SP) will retain its last remaining seat, holding steady at three seats.
The municipality of The Hague, responsible for counting postal votes, reported that GroenLinks-PvdA secured the most votes from abroad, garnering over 25,000 of nearly 87,000 ballots cast.
D66 received roughly 16,000 votes, while PVV collected 7,451. The current margin between D66 and PVV stands at 28,455 votes.
While the Electoral Council will announce official results on Friday, ANP’s updated projection confirms D66 leader Rob Jetten’s narrow victory.
Recounts in several municipalities had previously increased D66’s lead, including in Rotterdam, where the party gained 2,423 votes and PVV lost 2,483 compared with initial counts.
The outcome could shape upcoming coalition negotiations. A right-wing alliance of D66, VVD, CDA, and JA21 remains one seat short of a majority, holding 75 seats.
Analysts suggest D66 may now push the liberal VVD toward a centrist coalition with GroenLinks-PvdA, despite VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz resisting the move, calling the left-wing bloc “too radical,” NOS reported.
Of nearly 135,000 ballots distributed to voters abroad, about 87,000 were returned.
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