COPENHAGEN, Nov 13: Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s centre-right bloc was on course for a narrow victory in Tuesday’s general election, exit polls published before polling stations closed showed. The Liberal-Conservative minority coalition, and its parliamentary ally the far-right, anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party (DPP), has led opinion polls since Rasmussen called snap elections three weeks ago, though its lead narrowed considerably in the final days of the campaign.

Voters’ main concerns during the campaign were the welfare state and immigration.

Two surveys that questioned voters after they cast their ballots, and which were published just hours before polling stations closed, indicated Rasmussen’s coalition and the DPP held a narrow lead over the centre-left opposition.

A Megafon poll showed the centre-right bloc garnering 87 seats in parliament, compared to 83 for the opposition. Ninety seats are needed for a majority in the 179-seat Folketing, or parliament.

The newly-created centre-right party New Alliance, which has said it would support Rasmussen’s government if it met certain demands, was credited with five seats and could thereby give the prime minister a parliamentary majority.

Meanwhile, an exit poll by the Zapera institute that surveyed voters as they left polling stations on Tuesday showed Rasmussen’s coalition and the far-right winning 89 seats, compared to just 79 for the opposition.

That poll gave New Alliance seven seats.—AFP