The Dutch people started voting today in the country's most unpredictable election, with the party of murdered
anti-immigration populist Pim Fortuyn vying for power.
Polls predict the conservative Christian Democrats (CDA) will win the biggest share of the vote, putting it on course to lead a new coalition.
The Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) could become one of the biggest parties three months after it was formed.
Both are tipped as potential coalition partners although the political bargaining that follows a Dutch election could produce a combination of several parties in government. The Netherlands has been ruled by coalitions for decades.
Prime Minister Wim Kok's left-leaning coalition is set to be routed after eight years in office in the latest in a string of defeats for Europe's left that began in Italy last year and has spread to France, Denmark and Portugal, polls showed.
About 12.5 million people are entitled to vote in an election dominated by last week's murder of Mr Fortuyn, who stirred controversy with his anti-immigration and anti-Islamic views.
Polling stations opened at 7.30 a.m. (6.30 a.m. Irish time) and will close at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. Irish time).