Voters are going to the polls in the Netherlands in the first of three crucial eurozone elections this year.

The race is dominated by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's centre-right VVD party and that of Geert Wilders, running on an anti-immigration platform.

Mr Rutte has said the election is an opportunity for voters to "beat the wrong sort of populism".

Mr Wilders has pledged to take the Netherlands out of the EU, close all mosques and ban the Koran.

His Freedom Party (PVV) had been leading in opinion polls but they have since suggested his support may be slipping.

Turnout so far has been high, with 43% of voters going to the polls by 14:45 GMT compared with 37% at the last election in 2012, local media report.

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BBC News