Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's ruling liberal party (VVD) edged out the opposition Labour party (PvdA) to win early parliamentary elections, dpa quoted officials as saying Thursday. With final counts received from almost all municipal election authorities after Wednesday's poll, the VVD clinched 41 seats, with the social-democratic Labour at 39 mandates in the 150-seat lower chamber. The figures made a stable governing coalition the most likely outcome, as widely predicted by earlier polls. Right-wing populist Geert Wilders, who prompted the government's resignation in April when he withdrew the support of his Party for Freedom for the minority coalition government, conceded defeat.
