Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appeared Wednesday to have easily defeated a strong challenge by far-right rival Geert Wilders in a key election seen as a bellwether of populist support in Europe.
According to exit polls, Rutte's Liberal VVD would scoop up 31 seats, making it the largest party in the new 150-seat parliament, with Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) beaten into second place alongside two other parties on 19 seats.
Millions of Dutch had flocked to the polls in a near-record turnout, with the stakes high in an election pitting the pro-European Rutte against his anti-immigration and anti-EU rival.
Following last year's shock Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's victory in the US, the Dutch vote was being closely watched as a gauge of the strength of populism on the continent ahead of crucial elections in France and Germany.
"I consider it a victory for Europe, because you see a lot of countries where the populist parties are becoming bigger and bigger," Infrastructure and Environment Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told AFP.
"I'm very glad that the signal in the Netherlands now is that the Liberal party has become the biggest," said the VVD member.
Rutte is set to get the chance to form the next coalition and could possibly turn to the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Democracy party D66, which both appear to have matched Wilders with a predicted 19 seats.
But with the three parties' combined total of 69 seats, he would need another party to reach the 76-seat majority.
Watch: Mark Rutte celebrates his party's election win
'Not rid of me yet'
Wilders said that his party, which looks to have picked up an extra four seats, were also winners out of the Wednesday vote.
He described the result as "a victory, but not the victory we hoped for."
Accepting that his rival had won the vote, Wilders nevertheless urged parties to include his party in coalition negotiations - prior to the election, every major party leader, including Rutte, swore to exclude his Party for Freedom.
If he is relegated to the opposition benches, Wilders has sworn to offer "firm parliamentary opposition" to the government.
"We have had a huge influence in politics," the party leader said.
Wilders had pledged to close the borders to Muslim immigrants, shut mosques, ban sales of the Koran and leave the EU if he won the polls.
Trumpeting the country's economic growth and stability, Rutte is bidding for a third term as premier of the country - one of the eurozone's top economies and a founding EU member.
"This is a crucial election for The Netherlands," said Rutte, adding that it was a chance for a "big democracy" to halt the "domino effect of the wrong sort of populism."
Queues began early at polling stations on a warm spring day and turnout reached 81 per cent, just below the record of 88 per cent set in 1977.
Watch: SBS News Europe correspondent Brett Mason at the VVD election party
Amid the tussle between Rutte and Wilders, many of the 12.9 million eligible voters had wavered between the record 28 parties running.
One Muslim voter told AFP she was afraid of Wilders' fiery anti-Islam rhetoric.
"If you have one person who criticises, it's OK. But every time another person comes and then another one... then it's really hard to defend yourself," student Khadiga Kallouh, 22 said.
'Populism doesn't pay'
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel was one of the first to congratulate Rutte.
"Populism didn't pay off," he said in a Tweet, offering his congratulations to the VVD for "staying the strongest party."
Tough coalition talks will now follow, aiming to put in place the next government - a process which could take months.
Rutte, who had 40 seats in the outgoing parliament, has vowed never to work with Wilders again, turned off by his incendiary message, and after the PVV caused an earlier coalition to collapse.
The "PVV is not such a revolutionary, Trumpian force," Leiden University expert Geerten Waling told AFP.
"People stick to responsible politicians mostly," he said, acknowledging though that the PVV's showing was "not small".
He also pointed to the "disastrous" showing of the traditional Labour party, Rutte's sole partner in the outgoing coalition.
Support for the party appears to have evaporated and it was predicted to lost 29 seats to hold on to just nine.
Labour leader Lodewijk Asscher told supporters late Wednesday "the voters have spoken, difficult as it is, but that is democracy."
One of the biggest winners of the day was the young, charismatic Jesse Klaver, leader of the ecologist left-wing GroenLinks.
In a remarkable turnaround, the party is likely to win 16 seats compared to just four in the outgoing parliament.
Rutte's Liberal VVD would scoop up 31 seats in the new parliament making it the largest party, with Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) sharing second place on 19 seats with two other parties, the public broadcaster NOS said.
Millions of Dutch had flocked to the polls in a near record turnout, with stakes high in an election pitting Rutte against his far-right anti-Islam rival.
Following last year's shock Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's victory in the US, the Dutch vote is being watched as a gauge of the strength of populism on the continent ahead of key elections in France and Germany.
If the results are confirmed, Rutte will likely get the chance to form the next coalition and could possibly turn to the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Democracy party D66, which both matched Wilders with a predicted 19 seats.
Wilders had pledged to close the borders to Muslim immigrants, shut mosques, ban sales of the Koran and leave the EU, if he was elected the largest party in the parliament.
WATCH: SBS Europe Correspondent Brett Mason is in the Netherlands at PM Mark Rutte’s election night party as the first exit polls come in.
"Whatever the outcome of the election today, the genie will not go back into the bottle. And this patriotic revolution, whether today or tomorrow, will stay," Wilders said, voting earlier.
He has however increased the showing of his party which had 12 MPs in the outgoing parliament.
Trumpeting the country's economic growth and stability, Rutte is bidding for a third term as premier of the country - one of the largest economies in the eurozone and a founding member of the European Union.
"This is a crucial election for The Netherlands," said Rutte, the leader of the Liberal VVD party, as he voted.
"This is a chance for a big democracy like The Netherlands to make a point... to stop this... domino effect of the wrong sort of populism."
Near record turnout
Queues began early at polling stations on a warm spring day and turnout reached 81 per cent, just below the record of 88 per cent set in 1977.
Amid the tussle between Rutte and Wilders, many of the 12.9 million eligible voters had been wavering between the record 28 parties running.
In a rare move, polling stations in Rotterdam and The Hague were allowed to stay open beyond the 2000 GMT closing time in order to allow all those in line to cast their ballots.
In The Hague's city centre where many residents are from Turkish, Moroccan or Surinamese backgrounds, a steady flow of voters – many of them women wearing headscarfs – came and went at polling stations.
One Muslim voter told AFP she was afraid of Wilders' fiery anti-Islam rhetoric.
"If you have one person who criticises, it's OK. But every time another person comes and then another one... then it's really hard to defend yourself," student Khadiga Kallouh, 22 said.
"My mother has never voted before, but now she has and encouraged the whole family to do so because the situation is serious," said another headscarf-wearing woman.
Fragmented landscape
After months leading the polls, Wilders slipped back in recent weeks.
Tough coalition talks are now likely to follow, aiming to put in place the next government.
Rutte, who had 40 seats in the outgoing parliament, has vowed never to work with Wilders again, turned off by his incendiary message, and after the PVV caused an earlier coalition to collapse in 2010.
Early Dutch election exit poll results: Though subject to change, results show a very poor outcome for the Labour party, and Wilders' PVV weaker than expected. Source: SBS News
It reportedly takes an average of three months to form a coalition, but observers say it may take longer with four or even five parties needed to reach the 76-seat majority.
"I am hoping for a strong centre" coalition, said Alexander van der Hooft, one of the first voters on Wednesday.
"But I'm afraid it's going to be very fragmented and difficult to form a government," he told AFP.
Rutte's handling of a diplomatic crisis with Ankara - barring one Turkish minister from flying into the country, and expelling another - appears to have boosted his image.
Wilders had won support Tuesday from ideological ally French far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen who called him "a patriot".
Watch: The Dutch election explained
