The Hague, Oct. 29 -- Voting for the Dutch parliament's lower house began on Wednesday, as 1,166 candidates from 27 parties compete for 150 seats after the collapse of the ruling coalition.
Polling stations across the Netherlands opened at 7:30 a.m. (0630 GMT), with approximately 13.4 million registered voters eligible to cast ballots, according to Statistics Netherlands.
Pre-election polls by the research firm Ipsos showed that the Party for Freedom (PVV), the Green Left-Labor Party alliance, the Democrats 66, the Christian Democratic Appeal and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy are the front-runners.
The campaign has been dominated by domestic issues, with housing remaining the primary concern for half of all voters, accordi...