(Bloomberg) -- The Labor Party is set to win Dutch elections for the European Parliament, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberal party a close second in a hotly contested vote about the future of the European Union.

Labor is poised to win additional two seats for a total of five, according to an exit poll conducted by Ipsos and published by broadcaster NOS on Thursday evening. Rutte’s party is set to take four seats, up from three, while the anti-EU Forum for Democracy is expected to enter parliament with three seats. Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party will lose three of its four seats, the poll indicated.

Voters opted for the left-wing Labor party, led by European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, after polls predicted a close fight between Rutte’s liberals and Forum for Democracy. In his campaign, Rutte compared his pragmatic attitude toward the EU with what he called a dangerous stance from Forum leader Thierry Baudet to seek to leave the bloc.

Read More on Dutch PM Rutte: A Pianist in Sneakers Is the New Rising Force in Europe

The results of the Dutch vote will be published on Sunday after polls across the European Union have closed. The Christian Democrats are set to win four of the 26 seats in the European Parliament available to Dutch parties, the exit polls show.

Thursday’s vote contrasts with Forum’s win in Dutch provincial elections two months ago. That March vote made Forum, which only entered the lower house of Dutch parliament in 2017, the largest party in the Dutch Senate. Rutte’s four-party coalition government lost its majority in the upper house, forcing his government to look for broader alliances going forward if it wants to move ahead with its policy agenda.

TV Debate

Rutte, who has led three coalition cabinets since 2010, and Baudet exchanged jabs in a televised debate late Wednesday evening that showcased two very differing views on the EU.

The premier acknowledged that not everything is rosy in Europe, but he stressed that benefits for the Dutch economy from working with other European countries outweigh the negatives. The Forum leader said the Dutch can thrive without the EU and should take back control on topics such as immigration. He wants a referendum to let voters decide if they want a so-called Nexit or wish to stay in the bloc.

Polls have shown that the vast majority of the Dutch electorate wants the country to remain in the EU, while Forum and Wilders’ PVV have the highest number of voters that are against being part of the bloc.

To contact the reporters on this story: Joost Akkermans in Amsterdam at jakkermans@bloomberg.net;John Hermse in The Hague at jhermse@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, ;Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Andrew Blackman, Chris Reiter

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