While many of the results in the local elections will not be confirmed until Thursday, the exit poll from The Hague indicates a big win for local populist party Hart voor den Haag.
The poll gives the party 17 seats in the 45-seat city council, with GroenLinks-PvdA and D66 both unchanged on eight. Support for the right-wing VVD has plunged from seven to three, while Geert Wilders’ far right PVV lost its only seat. Pan-European party Volt has won its first seat on the city council.
The result – which is only an exit poll – makes it extremely complicated to form a new coalition for the city.
Hart voor den Haag was excluded from the previous administration because party leader Richard de Mos was embroiled in a corruption case. He has since been cleared.
In total, over 8,000 councillors were elected for 340 local councils on Thursday – in all but two of the total of 342 local authority areas.
Island dilemma
On the Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog, with just 800 voters, the three local parties taking part in the election all won three seats on the nine-seat island council.
Ons Belangen, which is the biggest party by a fraction, was excluded from the coalition after the last elections.
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