Amsterdam, 22 November 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Right-wing populist Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) has emerged as the strongest force from the Dutch parliamentary elections, according to an exit poll by Dutch broadcasters on Wednesday.

Coalition talks are expected to take a long time and the make-up of any government may not be immediately clear.

The PVV is projected to garner 35 of the 150 seats in parliament, a result which, if confirmed, would make it the first right-wing populist party ever to win parliamentary elections in the Netherlands.

Wilders' anti-Islam party made a significant leap forward in the polls after the right-wing liberal governing party, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), said that it was not ruling out a coalition with him this time.

The VVD's top candidate Dilan Yesilgöz is aiming to succeed her party colleague Mark Rutte and become the first woman to head the government. Rutte had always ruled out working with Wilders.

The VVD is projected to win 23 seats, down 11 on the last elections, according to the exit poll.

The alliance of the Social Democratic and Green parties, whose lead candidate is the former EU commissioner for climate, Frans Timmermans, is projected to win 26 seats, a gain of nine seats.

Around 13.3 million Dutch citizens were called on to vote in the early general election which was called after Prime Minister Rutte's centre-right coalition collapsed over a conflict about migration policy. Rutte then announced that he would leave national politics. He has been prime minister for around 13 years and will remain in office until a successor is elected.

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