By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – The Dutch Labor Party/GreenLeft (PvdA/GL) alliance has become the biggest party in the Dutch elections for the European Parliament, winning eight seats, in a setback for right-wing parties, exit polls showed Thursday.
The anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) came in a strong second with seven seats, according to a poll by pollster Ipsos I&O and broadcaster NOS.
The Netherlands, which can divide 31 seats in the massive 720-seat legislature, was the first European Union nation to vote in the four-day elections for the EU parliament.
According to EU guidelines, the official election results may not be announced until Sunday.
Most EU member states vote on Sunday.
If confirmed, the outcome will be a setback for Geert Wilders, who had hoped to have a solid mandate to impose stricter immigration rules. “If you want to change asylum policy, you also have the influence of the European Union with all the guidelines that are binding,” he told reporters.
His main political rival, former European climate czar Frans Timmermans, was welcoming the results.
ONE MILLION PEOPLE
He has said that his PvdA/GL wants to ensure that “one million people feel part of the Netherlands,” a reference to Muslims who often have a migration background.
Wilders has denied excluding law-abiding Muslims but says migration from Islamic countries should be limited at a time of rising antisemitism and severe housing shortages.
He had warned that a low turnout would undermine his party’s chances to win the European elections, although his party is by far the biggest in the House of Representatives.
The poll suggests that the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) will win four seats, while the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) will do better than expected with three.
The right-wing Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) won two seats in its first European Parliament elections while four parties were on target to win one, including the Christian-oriented Reformed Political Party (SGP), newcomers New Social Contract (NSC), plus the Socialists (SP) the Party for the Animals (PvdD) and pro-European Volt.
Voter turnout stood at about 46.8 percent, slightly more than in 2019, when 41.9 percent of voters bothered to cast their ballots.
Timmermans said the results showed that “Europe is alive,” while Wilders still hopes to gain one more seat when the official results are announced on Sunday.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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