The “Green Left“ – The Labor Party wins the elections for the European Parliament in the Netherlands, BTA reported.
The coalition will have 8 parliamentary seats according to the first exit poll of Ipsos I&O / TV channel NOS. On Thursday, the Netherlands elected 31 of the 720 deputies to the new European Parliament.
The far-right and Eurosceptic Freedom Party, which was predicted to win between 8 and 10 seats, came second - with 7 seats. Five years ago, Geert Wilders' party did not have a single MEP. However, she convincingly won the last parliamentary elections in 2023.
Informing about the results, the online edition of the daily "En Er Se“ (NRC) writes that the United Left List has achieved the main goal of its election campaign for the European Parliament: to be bigger than Wilders' Freedom Party. "And in this way to send a clear signal: the majority of Dutch voters are against the upcoming radical-right cabinet”, adds "En Er Se”.
The reaction of Geert Wilders, however, was different: “The Party of Freedom is the biggest winner!“, he wrote with exclamation in Ex (X).
The leader of the "Green Left“ – Labor Party Timmermans said that "pro-European parties” have become the largest in this election. He sent a message to the other European countries that will vote in the coming days. "It is not predetermined that the right-wing parties will win. I tell them: look to us and do the same in your country," Timmermans said, quoted by "En Er Se".
According to the I&O exit poll, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy will have 4 MEPs, the Christian Democratic call – 3, D66 – 3, The Peasant-Civil Movement – 2, and the Party for the Protection of Animals, the Reform Party, Volt and the young party New Social Contract – by 1.
The rural civil movement and the New Social Contract will have a representative in the European Parliament for the first time.
If the results of the exit poll are confirmed, the Forum for Democracy, 50plus and the Christian Union will leave the European stage.
The exit poll, based on a representative sample of polling stations, has a margin of error of one place, meaning the results in the Netherlands are far from certain given the number of parties predicted to win one or not a single place, the media reported.
The exit poll gives a voter turnout of around 47%, which is higher than that of the 2019 European elections, when the final voter turnout was 42%. In 2009 and 2014, voter turnout was 37 percent.
The highest rate of voter turnout in the Netherlands was achieved in 1979. In that year, the Dutch could vote for the European Parliament for the first time, and 58 percent of them went to the polls.
The official results of the European elections – 2024 in the Netherlands will be announced on Sunday after the end of election day in all 27 EU countries. The final results will be announced in about ten days by the Electoral Council.