THE HAGUE, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Democrats 66 (D66) party, led by Rob Jetten, has won the Dutch parliamentary election, the country's Electoral Council confirmed on Friday.
Council Chairman Wim Kuijken announced the final results at a public hearing, stating that D66 received 29,668 more votes than its closest rival, the Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders. Both parties secured 26 seats each in the 150-member lower house of parliament.
The result confirms D66 as the overall winner and positions Jetten to lead the upcoming coalition negotiations to form a new government.
Of the 27 parties that contested the election, 15 won enough votes to secure representation in parliament. Following D66 and the PVV, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) took 22 seats, the Green Left-Labor alliance (GroenLinks-PvdA) won 20, and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) gained 18.
Kuijken said the results were reliable and that no irregularities had been detected.
The election was called after the PVV withdrew from the governing coalition in June over an immigration dispute, prompting the resignation of Prime Minister Dick Schoof's cabinet, which has since operated in a caretaker capacity. With D66's victory, coalition talks are now expected to shape the composition of the next Dutch government. ■
