Liberals take lead in Dutch snap elections, exit polls suggest
Dutch campaign ads (Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw)
The liberal D66 party is likely to win a plurality of seats in the Dutch early parliamentary elections held on Oct. 29, while Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV is projected to finish second, according to exit polls published by Dutch media.
The Ipsos i&O poll, commissioned by Dutch broadcasters NOS and RTL, projects D66 will secure 27 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives—an increase of 18 from the nine seats it won in the 2023 election. Wilders’ PVV, which got 37 seats in 2023, is forecast to drop 12 seats to 25.
Other main parties also appear to be losing ground. The GreenLeft–Labour alliance (GL–PvdA) is set to lose five seats. The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is down one seat from its 2023 total. The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which held 19 seats, is forecast to lose five seats, leaving it with 14.
No other currently unrepresented party is expected to enter the House, according to the exit poll. However, Ipsos i&O cautions that its margin of error is one to two seats, making it too early to definitively say which party won the most votes.
Up to 15 parties could enter the new House, potentially complicating coalition talks. Early elections were triggered by the collapse of the governing coalition in June 2025, when Wilders announced the PVV was leaving over disagreements on migration policy.
The PVV won the previous vote on Nov. 22, 2023. Wilders is a vocal supporter of Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban, opposes the European Union, immigration, and Islam. His campaign has focused on restricting immigration.
On Russia’s war against Ukraine, Wilders has called Vladimir Putin a dictator, but in 2023 said the Netherlands should withhold further military aid to Ukraine.
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