THE HAGUE, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Voter turnout in the 2017 Dutch parliamentary elections on Wednesday has so far been much higher than the turnout for the previous elections of 2012.
As of 3:45 p.m. local time (0245 GMT), around 43 percent of the electorate in the Netherlands had cast their votes, according to research bureau Ipsos. During the previous elections in 2012, voter turnout was 37 percent at 3.45 p.m. and the turnout ultimately came out at 74.6 percent.
The highest turnout since 1970, when compulsory voting was abolished, was 88.0 percent in 1977. The record-low turnout was 73.3 percent in 1998.
The capital and largest Dutch city, Amsterdam, reported a higher turnout as well, with 25.1 percent on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. compared to 14.1 percent at the same time in 2012. Rotterdam recorded a turnout of 42.2 at 4:00 p.m., The Hague had 44.6 percent and Utrecht had a turnout of 48.2 percent at the same time.
The polling stations are open from 7.30 a.m. until 9 p.m. local time for Dutch citizens aged 18 years and older. A total of 12.9 million people of the roughly 17-million population are allowed to vote, which is 300,000 people more than during the 2012 elections.
The differences between the parties are small in the polls. In the latest poll by Peilingwijzer, which combines six different polls, on Wednesday morning, the rightist liberal party VVD was in the lead with 24 to 28 seats, followed by right-wing populist Party for Freedom PVV (19 to 23), the Christian Democrats CDA (19 to 22), the leftist liberals D66 (17 to 19), green left GroenLinks (16 to 18), the Socialist Party (14 to 16) and Labor PvdA (10 to 12).
