(MENAFN) The Dutch centrist party D66 held onto its lead in the parliamentary elections on Tuesday after all postal ballots from citizens living abroad were tallied, according to final forecasts from a news agency.

D66 will continue to hold 26 seats in the 150-seat parliament, preserving its status as the largest party, ahead of Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), which was unable to narrow the gap even with the additional overseas votes.

The Socialist Party (SP) will retain its last remaining seat, keeping its total at three representatives in parliament.

Data from the municipality of The Hague, which manages the postal ballot count, showed that GroenLinks-PvdA received the highest number of votes from abroad, securing over 25,000 out of nearly 87,000 ballots cast.

D66 garnered roughly 16,000 votes, while PVV obtained 7,451. This brings the margin between D66 and PVV to 28,455 votes.

While the Electoral Council is set to announce the official results on Friday, the news agency’s revised projections confirm a narrow victory for D66 leader Rob Jetten.

Previous recounts in multiple municipalities had slightly expanded D66’s lead. In Rotterdam, for instance, the party gained 2,423 votes, whereas PVV lost 2,483 compared to earlier estimates.

The outcome may shape the forthcoming coalition negotiations. A right-wing alliance composed of D66, VVD, CDA, and JA21 currently falls one seat short of a parliamentary majority, holding 75 seats.

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