Neck-and-neck finish in Dutch election as Wilders’ far-right party and D66 tie

Rob Jetten, leader of the D66 party, speaks during exit poll results (Peter Dejong/AP)

Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom and the centrist D66 were tied with 98% votes counted in the Dutch general election, in an unprecedented neck-and-neck race to become the biggest party.

The near total vote count showed each party winning 26 seats in Wednesday’s election.

The difference between the two leading parties was just over 2,000 votes nationwide, according to the vote count tallied and published by Dutch national news agency ANP and cited by Dutch media.