The leader on the Dutch center-left D66 party, Rob Jetten, claimed a "historic" result on Wednesday evening after an exit poll put his party in a slight lead in the Netherlands' general election.

The exit poll published immediately after voting ended Wednesday suggested the result was too close to call, with D66 narrowly ahead of the far-right party of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders.

The poll showed that D66 would win 27 seats, a rise of 18 compared to the 2023 election, and that Wilders’ Party for Freedom would lose 12 seats to finish at 25 seats, according to the poll published by national broadcaster NOS.

Final official results are likely to take hours.

If confirmed, the result would be a momentous win for D66 and could lead to a shift in government back toward the center for the Netherlands after a far-right government led by Wilders’ party after the last election.

"This is a historic election result because we've shown not only to the Netherlands but also to the world that it is possible to beat populist and extreme right movements and I'm very eager to cooperate with other parties to start an ambitious coalition as soon as possible," Jetten said.

If D66 has indeed won the most seats, the party will be in the driving seat to lead negotiations to form a new coalition and Jetten, a former climate minister in a previous coalition, could become the Netherlands’ first openly gay prime minister.

Wilders remained defiant, saying his party could still be the largest when official results are tallied.

But he conceded his party had a disappointing election.

Mainstream parties including D66 have ruled that out joining Wilders' party in a coalition, arguing that his decision to torpedo the outgoing four-party coalition in June in a dispute over migration underscored that he is an untrustworthy partner.

Cobbling together a coalition that can command a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives will be difficult in a parliament divided between left and right.

While Wilders' party lost seats, another hard right party, Ja21, grew from one seat to nine.

AP video shot by: Ahmad Seir Nassiri