Netherlands voters head to polls in neck-and-neck race

Less than two years after far-right candidate Geert Wilders led his Party for Freedom, or PVV, to a shock election win in the Netherlands, the nation went back to the polls on Wednesday — but a tighter contest is expected this time.

Wilders won decisively when the Netherlands last voted in November 2023, but the final polls ahead of this vote suggest his support has slipped. Three rival parties have closed the gap, and with nearly half the electorate undecided on the eve of the vote, the result remained too close to call, reported news agencies.

The snap election was set in motion in June, when Wilders pulled his Freedom Party out from a fractious four-party coalition amid a dispute over his sweeping plans to toughen immigration policy.

Latest opinion polls forecast a tight contest between the far-right PVV, the GroenLinks-PvdA center-left alliance, and centrist-liberal "Democrats 66", with the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal and the pro-business People's Party for Freedom and Democracy close behind.

Voters in the Netherlands are struggling with multiple crises — from a chronic housing shortage to overcrowded asylum centers — while the cost of living rises, driven by steep rents and healthcare costs, reported the BBC.

The country's electoral commission registered 1,166 candidates from 27 parties vying for 150 seats. But no party is expected to reach the 76 needed for a majority.

Observers say second place in the vote may matter more than first, as it could determine who can form a governing coalition. Wilders almost certainly won't become prime minister, regardless of the outcome, as mainstream parties have ruled him out, citing reliability concerns and hard-line views.

Commentators say that even if Wilders' party tops the vote, the next government is more likely to come from the center-left or center-right.

Frans Timmermans, who leads the GroenLinks-PvdA alliance and who is a veteran former European Commission vice-president, is pitching himself as a steady hand after months of turmoil. "This is one of the richest countries on the planet, and still, self-confidence is very low," Timmermans said ahead of the vote.

Political analysts say Wilders' score in the Netherlands, the European Union's fifth-largest economy, will be seen as a measure of far-right strength as similar parties top polls in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Agencies contributed to this story.