Dutch PM Rutte wins Covid-dominated election: exit polls

THE HAGUE: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's party won the most seats in elections dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, putting him on course to lead his fourth coalition, exit polls said Wednesday.

The pro-EU D66 party, which has challenged Rutte's European policy as part of his current government, is set to surge into second place, while anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders lost ground to move into third, public broadcaster NOS predicted.

Populist leader Thierry Baudet's party did unexpectedly well on the back of Covid-sceptic votes in a country that recently suffered its worst riots in decades after the imposition of a coronavirus curfew.

Millions of Dutch voters cast their ballots in socially distanced conditions at museums, churches and bike-through polling stations on the third and final day of the elections, which have been dominated by the government's response to the pandemic.

A limited number of voting centres had been open on Monday and Tuesday for the elderly and vulnerable, with voters also allowed out after a nationwide 9:00 pm coronavirus curfew, before polls opened for everyone on Wednesday.

Rutte had earlier said he was "cautiously" optimistic as he arrived in trademark style on his bike to vote at a school in The Hague.

"The main question during these elections on the table is who best can lead this country forward through the crisis of corona, and then make a new start with this country, I hope from summer onwards," Rutte told reporters.