ANKARA (AA) – An alliance of the Labour Party and Green Left (PvdA/GroenLinks) has emerged victorious in European Parliament (EP) elections held in the Netherlands, according to exit polls Thursday.
In the elections, 497 candidates, including eight of Turkish origin, from 20 different parties competed for 31 seats.
The voting process began at 7.30 a.m. local time and concluded at 9 p.m. After the polls closed, election officials immediately commenced the vote counting.
The final results are scheduled to be announced on the evening of June 9, once voting in all member countries has concluded.
The official results will be declared on June 19.
According to an exit poll conducted by the public broadcaster NOS and research firm Ipsos, voter turnout was approximately 47% out of 13 million eligible voters, marking a notable increase from the previous EP elections in 2019, when the turnout was around 42%.
The Labour Party and Green Left alliance secured eight seats, positioning themselves as the leading group.
Conversely, the Freedom Party (PVV), led by Geert Wilders and known for its racist and anti-Islam stance, fell short of expectations.
The PVV, which had achieved a commanding lead in the last general elections on Nov. 22, dropped to second place in the EP elections. Exit polls suggest that the PVV will send seven MPs to the European Parliament.
The EP elections, which commenced in the Netherlands on Thursday, are set to continue Friday in Ireland, the Czech Republic and Estonia.