Reuters PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Polls in the Netherlands showed that outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte is on his way to winning a fourth term, after his party led the general elections held in light of the Corona crisis.
The poll indicated that the liberal VVD party led by Rutte won 36 seats out of 150 in the House of Representatives, indicating a clear mandate for him to form a new government coalition.
In a statement, Rutte expressed his pride in the results, describing his fourth successive electoral success as “encouraging.”
He added that “the coming challenges are enormous. During the next few weeks and months, we have to get the country out of the Corona crisis.”
According to the poll, the “D-66” party, the pro-European center-left party led by former UN diplomat Sigrid Kaag, won second place with 27 seats, an unprecedented result.
Early polling data indicates that Mark Root will need to partner with at least two other parties to rule with a majority of 76 seats in Parliament.
Despite the Corona crisis, the rate of participation in the poll has reached 83 percent, and partial results are expected to be announced by Thursday morning, and the final results on March 26.
Source: “Reuters”
