Millions of Dutch flock to the polls Wednesday in a test of the “patriotic revolution” promised by far-right MP Geert Wilders, with Europe closely watching the outcome amid signs his support may be waning.
Wilders votes in a school in The Hague, mobbed by hundreds of reporters, as final polls suggested he was trailing the Liberal VVD party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
“Whatever the outcome of the election today, the genie will not go back into the bottle. And this patriotic revolution, whether today or tomorrow, will stay,” Wilders says.
Polls close at 2000 GMT (10 p.m. Israel time), with exit polls expected shortly after. Wilders has reason to be cautious, however, after his Freedom Party (PVV) has flopped in past votes.
“Let’s wait and see what the result will be,” he tells reporters.
On a warm spring day, queues began swelling early and the research institute IPSOS says turnout is already “a lot” higher than at the same point in 2012 when final participation was over 74 percent.
An eventual turnout of around 80% was predicted, 8% lower than the current record of 88% achieved in 1977.
— AFP
Dutch citizens vote in general elections at a polling station on March 15, 2017 in The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 15, 2017. (AFP/John Thys)
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