It’s not over yet. As of Thursday morning, Geert Wilders and his PVV have grabbed a razor-thin lead in the Dutch parliamentary elections, edging just 2,341 votes ahead of Rob Jetten’s D66.
But with several key areas still counting, the final result could swing either way.
And when we say razor-thin, we mean it. That’s less than the population of a small Dutch village deciding who’s “winning” a national election.
Amsterdam is still counting (surprise, surprise)
Most municipalities have wrapped up their tallies, but Amsterdam, the country’s largest city, is still at it.
According to the NOS, around 80% of the city’s votes have been counted, with the final results expected Friday evening.
Given that Amsterdam tends to lean progressive, those remaining ballots could be enough to tip the scales back in D66’s favour.
No pressure, Amsterdam.
Fire delays count in Venray
Meanwhile, two other municipalities are holding up the national result: Almere and Venray.
In Venray, a fire in the town hall forced dozens of staff to evacuate mid-count. According to NOS, a damaged fuse box caused a power outage, but thankfully, none of the ballots were harmed by fire or water.
It’s unclear when counting will resume, but officials say the situation is under control.
Overseas votes won’t arrive until Monday
And then there’s the small matter of the overseas ballots.
Around 135,000 Dutch citizens living abroad requested postal votes, and roughly 90,000 actually sent them in. Those envelopes are still being processed, and the results won’t be in until Monday evening at the earliest.
Given how tight this race is, these votes could decide who comes out on top. So if you’re refreshing the results page every five minutes, you might want to pace yourself.
So… who’s actually won?
Speaking on RTL this morning, political commentator Frits Wester this morning that even if the PVV ends up a few thousand votes ahead of D66, it won’t change much in practice.
Both parties will still end up with the same number of seats in parliament: 26 each.
According to Wester, D66 should still be seen as the moral winner of this election. He added that parliament is likely to give D66 the first shot at coalition talks, arguing that handing the lead to the PVV would only cause unnecessary delays.
In other words: it’s complicated. (As always.)
What happens next?
In true Dutch fashion, the final results are taking their sweet time.
Between Amsterdam’s late count, a town hall fire, and tens of thousands of overseas ballots still en route, we may not know who has officially “won” this election until Monday night.
But one thing’s for sure: whether it’s D66 or PVV that comes out ahead, forming a new coalition will be a whole new marathon. Welcome to Dutch politics: slow, steady, and never straightforward.
Are you glued to the results? Let us know in the comments who you think will come out on top.
Thanks for the summary and explanation
We are Americans from Boston with an apartment in Amsterdam and spend at lest 4-5 months avyear here. Believe us, you dont want anyone like Trump.running the Netherlands.
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