Geert Wilders pledges four-year halt to asylum claims if he wins Dutch election

Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom, has vowed to halt all asylum claims for four years if he wins the Dutch election in October. His manifesto includes closing all borders, shutting down asylum centers, and ending family reunification, while discarding the UN Refugee Convention. He also plans to deport Ukrainian men back to Ukraine and return Syrians to their home or other Arab nations.

Wilders triggered the snap election after exiting the previous coalition government due to dissatisfaction with its asylum policies. Although his current manifesto is less extreme than before, it still labels Islam as “the greatest existential threat to our freedom.” Polls show him tied with the GroenLinks–PvdA party, but forming a coalition government remains a challenge.