An exit poll released after voting ended Wednesday indicated the center-left D66 was on course to win the Dutch national elections and defeat the far-right, opening a path for the energetic leader Rob Jetten to become the Netherlands’ youngest prime minister.
The exit poll projected D66 to win 27 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament, beating far-right leader Geert Wilders' Freedom Party with 25. The poll has a margin of error of up to three seats.
Cheers and chants of "Yes, we can" broke out at the D66 election night celebration as the crowd waved Dutch flags.
The popularity of 38-year-old Jetten surged in the past month, as he campaigned on a positive message promising an end to a political era dominated by Wilders.
Wilders' nationalist, anti-immigration PVV party's short-lived time in government seems likely to be over for now. Mainstream parties from the left to the right have ruled out joining a coalition with them.
