Dutch voters head to the polls today, Wednesday, after two turbulent years under Geert Wilders’ far-right government, with the coalition’s collapse over migration policy and growing public discontent setting the stage for one of the most unpredictable elections in recent Dutch history.
After two years under a government led by Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), Dutch voters appear increasingly weary of the coalition’s indecision, harsh rhetoric, and polarising remarks. Wilders himself brought the coalition to an end, pulling his PVV out of government after claiming its migration policy did not go far enough.
The final debate - marked by fierce exchanges, personal attacks and some genuine discussion - took place on Tuesday evening, just hours before polling stations were due to open.
According to Dutch broadcaster NOS, the day before the 2025 election has “rarely been so tense,” with parties drawing ever closer in the polls and five of them now having a realistic chance of becoming the largest: Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV, the left-green alliance GroenLinks–PvdA, centrist parties D66 and CDA (Christian Democrats), and the liberal VVD.
Yet with nearly 40 percent of voters still undecided, there remained much to play for among the party leaders.
On Wednesday, election day, things began quietly at a polling station in Rijswijk, a suburb of The Hague. The station, located on the first floor of a glass-and-steel office building, opened at 7:30 am to give voters time to cast their ballots before work.
One voter, dressed in a bright red windbreaker, declined to say which party he voted for. “That remains a secret,” he said. But he did share that he is far from satisfied with the current government.
Dutch voters decide future amid rising far-right influence
“The last couple of years, the people in government were fighting each other instead of trying to make the country better,” he told RFI. “That’s the task for those now elected to parliament.”
“Wilders has already walked out of government twice because he didn’t get his way - and that’s no way to run a country,” he said.
Another voter shared similar concerns. “It’s a bit of a mess, isn’t it?” said Mark, an IT developer in his thirties.
“What really worries me - and you can see this happening internationally too - is that conservatives are increasingly willing to work with the radical right."
He added that once politics heads in that direction, debates become more personal, the quality of discussion deteriorates, and politicians seem more focused on point-scoring than on actually getting things done. "The overall standard of politics right now is just dismal," he said.
Sandra, in her late fifties, said she voted for D66, a centrist party that often acts as a kingmaker in the Netherlands’ tricky coalition politics.
“Mostly because I really care about the environment,” she explained. “I didn’t hear much about it during the debates, so I really hope they’ll do something.”
Ilse, another voter, chose not to say who she backed, but like Mr De Haan, she said she had been disappointed by the past two years.
“Nothing has happened. I hope we’ll move back towards the centre. Then, perhaps, things might take a different direction. As it stands, nothing changes. They made plenty of plans, but nothing came of them. We also need a bit more respect for each other — that seems to have completely disappeared, in my view.”
Polling stations will close at 9 pm, with counting starting immediately afterwards. National broadcaster NOS will then release exit polls based on research by Ipsos I&O, conducted at 65 polling stations across the Netherlands with around 80,000 voters.
At 9:30 pm, Ipsos I&O will update the exit poll as results begin to come in from across the country. Before midnight, results from larger cities — those with more than 100,000 residents — are expected to start filtering through.
Once all results are in on Thursday, the Dutch news agency ANP will publish a final projection, although the outcome will only be officially confirmed by the Election Council next week.
