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Far right leader Geert Wilders is on course for a disappointing result in tonight's Dutch elections, the first exit polls have indicated.

Many had expected Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) to be the largest party, beating Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) into second place.

But early exit polls indicate Rutte's party will be the biggest party on 31 seats.

And they suggest Wilders' party has more than doubled its number of seats from 9 to 19 in just two years

And the PVV is in joint second place, with Conservative CDA party and Liberal B66 party both getting 19 seats.

(Image: AFP)

Dutch elections are not ‘winner take all’ - and voters are electing a parliament, not a president.

It’s not even guaranteed that the leader of the largest party will end up in charge.

Dutch election exit poll

No single party ever manages to win the 76 seats necessary form a majority alone, so coalitions have been the norm for 100 years.

The Dutch system is proportional, and 28 different parties are been vying for 150 seats in the House of Representatives in this year’s election.

(Image: AFP)

Even if Wilders had come out of tonight’s election with the greatest number of seats in the House - every other party leader has ruled out forming a coalition with him. If they stick to their promises, he’ll find it next to impossible to form a government.

And there’s another problem - Wilders is the only actual member of his party. If he gets 19 seats as expected, he’ll have a lot of empty seats to fill with friends and colleagues, and he doesn’t have any.