Dutch leftists score surprise victory in EU vote: exit poll

Dutch leftists scored a surprise victory to win the most seats in European Parliament elections Thursday, beating the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and an upstart populist group, an exit poll said.

The Labour party of European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans was projected to win five seats out of the 26 allocated for the Netherlands, the Ipsos poll for public broadcaster NOS said.

Rutte's Liberals were set to win four seats and the eurosceptic Forum for Democracy of populist leader Thierry Baudet was expected to win three seats, the poll said.

Opinion polls ahead of the vote had shown Baudet and Rutte's parties on course to win five each, and the two leaders had a fiery televised debate on Wednesday night focusing on issues including immigration.

The Netherlands and exit-bound Britain were the first countries to vote on Thursday in the four-day European elections, in which populist parties had been expected to score big gains.