Some 38% of voters had cast their ballot in the general election by 16.00 hours, below the 2006 turnout figure, opinion pollster Synovate said.

The Dutch are voting to elect 150 members of the lower house of parliament, and, according to the final opinion polls, the gap between the Liberals (VVD) and Labour (PvdA) has narrowed to as few as four seats.
The cabinet collapsed at the end of February after Labour pulled out because it did not support keeping Dutch soldiers longer in Afghanistan.
Polling stations
The polling stations opened at 07.30 hours, although at Schiphol airport voters were able to make their choice from 05.00 hours. Polling stations have also been set up at 45 railway stations so commuters can vote while waiting for a train.
The polls close at 21.00. Voting is by red pencil – voting computers have been abandoned because of privacy fears. Nineteen parties are taking part.
Exit poll
In total, 12 million people can cast their vote, but the turnout in national elections is far lower. TV news organisations Nos and RTL, and news agency ANP have joined forces to produce an exit poll which will be published soon after voting ends.
Two final opinion polls on Tuesday night put the gap between the VVD and Labour at just four seats as the Liberals lost two. The VVD is set to take around 34 seats, Labour 30 and the CDA, which now has 41, just 24.
A year ago, the VVD had just 12 seats in the polls, while Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam PVV was the biggest with 32. It is now set to take 18 seats.
In fifth place is the SP on 13 (now 25). GroenLinks is on 11 (up 4) and D66 is up 8 to 11.

Undecided
Opinion pollster Maurice de Hond estimates one in five voters are still undecided.
If the VVD holds on to its lead, Mark Rutte will be the first Liberal Dutch prime minister since Cort van der Linden (1913-1918).