Yesterday saw the Netherland go to the ballots for the European Elections, with exit polls showing that the joint greens-social-democrat alliance list came out on top, winning one more seat than the far-right according to predictions.
On Thursday, turnout for the European elections in the Netherlands was considerably higher this year than in 2019, according to an Ipsos I&O/NOS exit poll.
46.8% of voters went to the polling booth on Thursday, compared with 41.8% five years ago.
The joint greens-social-democrat alliance PvDA-GroenLinks list came out on top according to the initial results. It won eight seats, one less than five years ago.
Its figurehead, the former European Commissioner for the green deal, Frans Timmermans, said on announcing the results that he hoped to make Europe "safer" and "more united" and that he wanted to work towards a Green Deal 2.0.
The PvDA-GroenLinks list is followed by the far-right PVV party with seven seats and the liberal VVD party with four seats. PVV leader Geert Wilders said he was "enormously satisfied" with the results, which he described as a "huge victory".
According to the exit polls, pan-European party Volt Europe will also gain its first MEP in The Netherlands, as Sophie In 't Veld is the leading candidate for Volt Belgium.
The possibly newly elected Volt MEP, Reinier van Lanschot, points out: "As a pan-European party, we do not only represent our voters in the Netherlands, but European citizens across the continent. We believe that we need a unified approach to tackle cross-border challenge."
Exit polls have a margin of error. The final results, expected on Sunday, could mean one seat more or less for either political party.
The Netherlands marked the start of four days of elections across the EU to renew the European Parliament. The electoral marathon will come to an end on Sunday, voting day in Belgium, but also in Germany and France, the bloc's two biggest economic powers.
