UPDATE - D66 party narrowly leads in Dutch parliamentary elections: Exit poll

ADDS FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS, STATEMENTS

By Beyza Binnur Donmez and Ilayda Cakirtekin

GENEVA/ISTANBUL (AA) - The centrist Democrats 66 (D66) party has emerged as the largest party in the Netherlands' parliamentary elections with 27 seats, according to an exit poll Wednesday by Ipsos I&O for public broadcaster NOS and RTL.

The far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) follows closely with 25 seats, while the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is third with 23. The left-wing alliance of GroenLinks–PvdA is projected to win 20 seats, and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party 19.

D66 leader Rob Jetten said the party achieved its "best result ever," stressing that they are "arguably the largest party in the Netherlands," according to NOS.

He noted that millions of Dutch people have turned the page by saying goodbye to the "it can't be done" politics.

Jetten further vowed to work for a stable and ambitious Cabinet in the coming period.

In the meantime, GroenLinks-PvdA's Frans Timmermans announced in his speech that he is stepping down as party leader following the release of the exit poll.

"We didn't succeed—I didn't succeed—in convincing enough people to vote for us. I take full responsibility for that. That's why I want to hand over the reins to the next generation," he said.

Given the exit poll's one-seat margin of error and the possibility of up to two seats' deviation, the race for the largest party remains too close to call, said NOS. Official results are expected later Wednesday as vote counting continues across the country.

Among the smaller parties, the right-wing JA21 made significant gains, going from one to nine seats, while Forum for Democracy (FvD) increased from three to six. The pro-farming BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) party is projected to drop from seven to four seats, and the Socialist Party (SP) from five to three.

New Social Contract (NSC), which entered parliament in the previous election with 20 seats, is projected to lose all representation, according to the exit poll.

A second exit poll released half an hour after the first one, including later voters, showed no changes in the election result predictions. Final results will be confirmed once the full count is completed.