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The nationalist leader of the PVV (Party for Freedom) has vowed to take the Netherlands out of the EU if he wins the election, sparking fears in Brussels that the populist anti-EU sentiment will continue across the bloc. Geert Wilders arrived to vote surrounded by security as a media scrum surrounded him, shortly followed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Mr Wilders has led election polls since November with up to 13 million Dutch people expected to vote in a parliamentary election seen as a face-off between his party and Mr Rutte.

The common people are interested in getting our country back and our national sovereignty are hopefully voting today in huge amounts Geert Wilders

Ahead of voting this morning, Mr Wilders said: “I feel very optimistic. We want to take out country back.” When asked if he had run his campaign on fear and bigotry, Mr Wilders said: “Those are all lies. We are having big support from common Dutch people. “The common people are interested in getting our country back and our national sovereignty are hopefully voting today in huge amounts.”

REUTERS Geert Wilders and Mark Rutte cast their votes in the Dutch election

Mr Wilders said: "What I call the patriotic parties are gaining some momentum... but whatever the outcome of the election today the genie will not go back into the bottle and this patriotic revolution, whether today or tomorrow, will take place. Mr Rutte, who has called the Dutch vote a quarter-final before a French semi-final and German final said a Wilders victory would be felt well beyond the Netherlands. He said: “I think the rest of the world will then see after Brexit, after the American elections again the wrong sort of populism has won the day.” Voter Wendy de Graaf, from The Hague, said: ”I am voting for Wilders. I hope he can make a change to make the Netherlands better. ”I don't agree with everything he says...but I feel that immigration is a problem."

The top moments from the Dutch Elections Thu, March 16, 2017 Geert Wilders is battling the current Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the Dutch Elections 2017 Play slideshow 1 of 30

Mr Wilders has said he wants "de-Islamicise" the Netherlands and close the border to Muslim immigrants if he wins. Shortly after casting his vote he said: “Muslims are free to leave the Netherlands whenever they want.” But the fractured political landscape makes a coalition government inevitable. Mr Wilders is not guaranteed a place in government even if he wins with all leading parties refusing to share power with him.

Unlike the US or French presidential elections, there will be no outright Dutch winner, with up to 15 parties having a realistic chance of winning a seat in parliament and none set to gain even 20 percent of the vote. Mr Rutte's last government was a two-party coalition with the Labour Party, but at least four parties may now be needed to secure a majority in parliament. It would be the first such multi-party alliance since three in the 1970s. Two of those fell apart within 12 months. Experts predict a coalition-building process that will take months once the final tally is known. National broadcaster NOS said that by 9.30am GMT, turnout was at 15 per cent, 2 per cent ahead of the previous parliamentary election in 2012. With as many as four out of 10 voters undecided a day before voting and there is a tight margin of just 4 per cent between leading candidates.

Opinion polls indicate a three percentage point lead for Mr Rutte's party over Mr Wilders', although these did not fully take into account a rupture of diplomatic relations with Ankara after the Dutch banned Turkish ministers from addressing rallies of overseas Turks. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the Dutch of behaving like Nazis. Early indications are that the dispute may have helped both Mr Rutte and Mr Wilders. Mr Rutte, who is hoping Dutch economic recovery will win him backing, has been insists he will not accept the PVV as a coalition partner nor rely on Mr Wilders to support a minority government, as was the case in 2010-2012. He said: "I will not work with such a party, Mr Wilders, not in a cabinet nor with you supporting from outside. Not, never, not.” DUTCH ELECTION POLLS LIVE: UPDATES AS GEERT WILDERS TAKES ON MARK RUTTE IN NETHERLANDS

AFP GETTY Geert Wilders was surrounded by photographers as he made his way to the polling station

REUTERS Mark Rutte smiled to the cameras as he arrived to vote