Dutch PM Rutte's party wins as voters back center-ground

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's VVD party was projected to come out on top in the Netherlands' general election on Wednesday, in a vote overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic.

With 63% of Wednesday's vote counted, Rutte's party was on track to take 36 out of 150 seats in the lower house. The results appeared to be an endorsement of the Netherlands' political center-ground. 

Rutte said a new coalition with the left-leaning pro-European D-66 party — led by former UN diplomat Sigrid Kaag — "would seem obvious." The D-66 party is projected to make the biggest gains and finish in second place with 24 seats.

The result appeared to be an endorsement of Rutte's handling of the pandemic, despite infection rates remaining high and a slow rollout of the vaccination program.

VVD lawmaker Sophie Hermans said: "This shows that the Netherlands trusts the VVD and Mark Rutte to continue in this unprecedented crisis.''

D66 surge

The pro-EU D66 party, which has frequently challenged Rutte's European policies, was on course to secure second place with a projected 27 seats, while anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders lost ground to move into third, public broadcaster NOS predicted.

Thierry Baudet's Forum for Democracy garnered support on the back of COVID-19 skepticism in a country that recently suffered its worst riots in decades after the implementation of a curfew aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.

Baudet's far-right party were on course to significantly increase its presence in the Dutch parliament by securing eight seats. Baudet was one of the only leaders to hold campaign rallies around the country.

A 3-day election due to COVID

Millions of voters across the Netherlands cast their ballots at museums, churches and bike-through polling stations conducted over three days to help ensure social distancing and other coronavirus measures could be maintained.

A limited number of voting centers had been open on Monday and Tuesday for the elderly and vulnerable, with voters also allowed out after a nationwide 9 p.m. coronavirus curfew, before polls opened for everyone on Wednesday.

Rutte had earlier said he was  "cautiously" optimistic as he arrived in trademark style on his bike to vote at a school in The Hague.

rs,jsi,rc/aw (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)