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The centrist liberals under Rob Jetten have taken a shock lead in the Dutch election, according to the main exit poll, two years after his party languished in sixth place in the last vote.
Jetten staged a remarkable campaign in recent weeks, and the Ipsos I&O exit poll suggests his D66 liberals have won 27 seats, two more than anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders who won the last election.
The final result is too close to call, even though Dutch exit polls are generally considered reliable.
Three other parties are close behind, including the conservative liberals, the left-wing Green-Labour party and the Christian Democrats.
Wilders led the polls throughout the election campaign, but after he pulled the plug on his own coalition in June in a row over asylum and migration, all the mainstream leaders made clear they did not wish to work with him again.
Jetten’s party, meanwhile, staged a highly successful campaign, capitalising on his polished performances during TV debates. The fact the 38-year-old liberal leader had appeared in a game show during the campaign added to his profile.
There was palpable excitement as party supporters gathered for the results at a hall in Leiden, a city between Amsterdam and The Hague. A second exit poll, half an hour after voting ended at 21:30 (20:30 GMT) confirmed the initial projection.
“It was a campaign of optimism, it shows the Dutch are tired of two years of standstill, we recognise big challenges and we want progress on those,” said D66 supporter Eline.
This election was partly fought on migration and overcrowded asylum centres, but the biggest issue for voters was the chronic housing shortage of almost 400,000 homes, in a population of 18 million.
Jetten’s party has said it will build 10 cities as part of its plan to tackle the crisis.
