The Netherlands appears headed for a centrist government under Rob Jetten after his Democrats 66 (D66) party narrowly won the most votes in the 2025 general election, edging out Geert Wilders’s far-right Freedom Party (PVV) in a tense count that left the two parties level on seats but divided on vision.

The national news agency, ANP, confirmed D66 as the overall winner on Friday, with both parties projected to secure 26 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives but D66 gaining a slightly higher share of the vote.

Jetten, 38, is now on course to become the youngest prime minister in Dutch history and has called for a broad coalition: “from left to right” to tackle issues such as housing shortages, migration reform, climate policy, and economic growth.

“Voters have clearly indicated the need for co-operation,” Jetten told reporters after claiming victory. “We want to find a majority that will eagerly work on the issues that matter most to ordinary people.”

Wilders, whose PVV surprised most observers by winning the most votes in the 2023 Dutch election, refused to concede and alleged widespread voter fraud on social media. In 2023 the PVV had emerged as the single-biggest party with 37 seats but suffered a significant setback last week, losing 11 seats.

Wilders labelled Jetten: “arrogant” for declaring victory before the election council’s final certification, expected next week. Election officials quickly denied claims of irregularities, insisting the vote had been conducted transparently and under proper oversight.

The election shows that Dutch politics remains highly fractured – fifteen parties won seats in the country’s parliament and of the parties that will be represented ten won less than 10% of the vote.

With D66 securing around 17% of the national vote, Jetten must now negotiate with at least three coalition partners to form a working majority. Analysts expect talks to stretch for months as parties weigh alliances amid a deeply fragmented political landscape.

Should Jetten become prime minister it will be the first time that someone from D66 holds the post.

Party leaders are expected to begin exploratory coalition talks this week.