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Serbian Students Oust Right-Wing Leader in Election
· Confirmed
In Short: In a historic election, Serbia's student-led movement defeated the right-wing leader Aleksandar Vucic, ending his 14-year rule.
In a historic election, Serbia's student-led movement, known as the Student List, defeated the right-wing leader Aleksandar Vucic, ending his 14-year rule.
Vucic, who served as deputy prime minister, prime minister, and president since 2012, conceded defeat on Sunday night, citing preliminary results showing the Student List surging ahead.
The movement emerged from nearly two years of anti-corruption protests sparked by the deaths of 16 people in a railway station canopy collapse in Novi Sad in 2024.
The Student List, which has 250 candidates but no clear leader, has gained significant support since the protests began, with hundreds of thousands of supporters rallying in Belgrade's Slavija Square on Thursday night.
Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is projected to have around 105 seats, while the Student List is expected to take between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member Parliament.
The election, which was considered one of the most competitive in recent memory, saw a record turnout, with voters queuing at polling places early Sunday.
The Student List's victory marks a significant shift in Serbia's political landscape, with the movement focusing on issues such as corruption, media freedom, and democratic institutions.
Vucic, in his concession speech, acknowledged the loss and the strength of the opposition, saying, “It is clear that we have lost these elections, the Student List has won.”
Despite the movement's success, no student has been elected to Parliament, highlighting the movement's broader appeal beyond its student base.
International observers and the European Union have expressed concern about the safety and fairness of the ballot, citing the ruling party's tight control over media and institutions.
The Student List's victory is expected to pave the way for reforms and a shift towards closer ties with the European Union.
The movement's leaderless structure and focus on broad issues have resonated with a wide range of voters, making it a formidable opponent to Vucic's long-standing rule.
Background
More than 600 police officers were injured in the clashes, according to Agathe Foucault, a spokesperson for the national police, who spoke to RTL radio on Saturday.
What's confirmed
- Support for the student movement has grown since the protests first started in November 2024.
- People hold a cutout of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic during the final "Student List – Students Win" rally ahead of a parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Oct.
- People shine the lights of they mobile phones and light flares during the final "Student List – Students Win" rally ahead of a parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Oct.
- On Sunday, Serbia is bracing for what could be its most uncertain and high-stakes elections in 14 years, with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, facing a challenge that has emerged out of a two-year student-led protest movement.
- Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Serbia’s protesting students have gathered for the final campaign rally ahead of the tense parliamentary election on weekend in a mounting challenge to the Balkan country’s powerful strongman Aleksandar Vucic.
- "You deserve better, and we know how to deliver it. Students are winning!"
- Serbia's 6.4 million voters were electing lawmakers to the 250-member Parliament.
- "We stand ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom, the fight against corruption and strong democratic institutions, and to work together to advance Serbia's future in the European Union," von der Leyen said on X.
- “Dear Serbia, tonight the voice of the people is being heard,” said Radomir Saičić, a professor at Belgrade University, speaking on behalf of the students at their headquarters.
- People celebrate after Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) conceded defeat in the parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Oct.
- In conceding the election, Vucic said his party projects that his opponents, the youth-backed Students’ List, will take between 135 and 140 seats while his SNS party will have around 105.
- "It is clear that we have lost these elections, the Student List has won," Mr Vucic said in a televised speech.
What's still developing
- Voters in Serbia will decide in a tense parliamentary ballot this weekend whether to extend the 14-year rule of Russia-backed populist strongman Aleksandar Vucic or back a youth movement behind nearly two years of protests seeking political changes in the Balkan country.
- "This year it's going to be over 100 billion euros, which is $120 billion."
- The Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, Michael O’Flaherty, criticised Serbia’s government in a report this week and said he “will monitor the situation closely” on Saturday.
- “These are the first elections in a long time whose outcome is entirely uncertain,” Nebojsa Vladisavljevic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, told BIRN.
- Whatever Vučić's title, there has never been any doubt that he was the man in charge – an image enthusiastically promoted by Serbia's largely uncritical media.
- He retains strong support among a significant section of Serbia's population.
- Polls suggest that the student movement is running neck and neck with Vučić’s SNS party.
- Even though Serbia's 6.4 million voters can choose from multiple parties, the vote is shaping up to be a referendum between Vucic and his SNS party on one side, and the Students' List on the other.
- Serbia is negotiating for membership in the European Union (EU).
- In 2024, after the roof of the railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city, collapsed, killing 16 people, young people intensified their protests against the government.
- Watchdog organizations have noted that the student movement and other prominent opponents of Vučić are also being targeted by cyberattacks.
- Aleksandar Vucic says Serbia is deepening ties with Washington while balancing relations with Russia and China, standing by Israel and resisting calls to recognize Kosovo.