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Serbian Students' List Wins Election Unseating Vucic
· Confirmed
In Short: In a historic upset, the Student List, a political movement born from student protests, won Sunday's parliamentary elections in Serbia, unseating President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
In a historic upset, the Student List, a political movement born from student protests, won Sunday's parliamentary elections in Serbia, unseating President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Vucic conceded defeat in a press conference, acknowledging preliminary results showing the Student List leading with around 135-140 seats compared to 105 for the SNS. The election watchdog CRTA reported that the Student List won 51.5% of the vote, while Vucic's United Serbia won 40.2%.
The Student List emerged from a two-year protest movement following the Novi Sad railway station disaster in November 2024, where 16 people died. The movement, which remained independent from domestic political parties and international superpowers, adopted a strategy that ensured its success where others had failed.
Student List candidate Radomir Saicic celebrated the victory, saying, “Tonight, the citizens of Serbia have shown that no obstacle is greater than their will, no fear is stronger than their courage, and no force can forever overpower a people determined to take their destiny into their own hands.”
The movement's success was attributed to its rejection of traditional leadership-based politics and its focus on addressing corruption and economic precarity. Students and their families had been squeezed from all sides by local elites and international corporations, leading to a widespread sense of disillusionment.
The election saw exceptionally high voter turnout, with 69.34% of eligible voters casting their ballots. This marked the highest turnout in years and a significant shift in political dynamics.
Vucic, who had dominated Serbian politics since 2014, blamed Serbia's independent media and unnamed European countries for interference. He also accused his opponents of being backed by the US's deep state and European countries.
The Student List's victory was welcomed by several European leaders, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who reaffirmed the European Union's support for Serbia's democratic reforms and European integration.
The movement's success has sparked interest across Europe, with some comparing it to Hungary's recent political shift. Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar congratulated the Student List's leaders, noting how their victory was inspired by Hungary's own political change.
The Student List has already started negotiations to form the government, marking a significant shift in Serbian politics after 14 years of rule by the Serbian Progressive Party.
The election results reflect a broader trend of youth-led movements challenging established political structures and advocating for systemic change.
What this adds
The dek and grafs reflect the confirmed and new reporting from multiple outlets, including Al Jazeera, Balkaninsight, and Newsweek. The story highlights the unprecedented victory of the Student List over the Serbian Progressive Party, emphasizing the movement's independence and its focus on addressing corruption and economic issues.
Background
In a surprise victory, Serbian students' list won parliamentary elections, ousting President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party.
In a surprise victory, Serbian students' list won parliamentary elections, ousting President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party.
What's confirmed
- “I would like to inform you that, based on the stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost this election,” said Aleksandar Vucic, former president and leader of the Serbian Progressive Party’s “United Serbia” electoral list.
- Speaking at around 9:30 pm on Sunday, Vucic announced preliminary results suggesting that the opposition Student List was leading in Serbia’s closely watched snap parliamentary elections, with around 135-140 seats compared to 105 for the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
- Serbian election watchdog CRTA said that according to preliminary results, Student List won 51.5 per cent and Vucic’s United Serbia won 40.2 per cent.
- “This was a verification of a revolution that they carried out directly with support of various European countries, and the US’s deep state, the one that is against President Trump,” Vucic said in a press conference.
- He described the outcome as “a victory for the belief that Serbia can and must be different.” Serbia’s snap parliamentary elections on Sunday saw exceptionally high voter turnout as the ruling SNS faced its greatest electoral challenge in 14 years from Student List, which emerged from the student-led protest movement following the Novi Sad railway station disaster in November 2024.
- The Student List has already started negotiations to form the government.
- Although the student protests were triggered by one particular incident – the death of 16 people in a train canopy collapse at a newly renovated station in 2024 – their anger had much deeper roots.
- Candidates from the Student List, who are not students themselves but largely first-time politicians selected by student-led popular assemblies, won a majority of seats in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, marking a seismic shift in Serbian politics.
- Mr Vucic, a populist and nationalist, has dominated Serbian politics as prime minister or president since 2014.
- A young man holds a Serbian flag as people gather for the final "Student List – Students Win" rally ahead of a parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Oct.
What's still developing
- By March 2025, suffering more and more attacks, the students called for people to establish citizens’ assemblies akin to the student plenaries, in order to aid them in seeking justice for the 16 killed in Novi Sad.
- But Serbian students did not just rely on their opponent’s overconfidence.
- A nationwide student movement shook the foundations of a deeply entrenched government and on Sunday, it dealt it an unprecedented electoral blow – something opposition parties had failed to do for more than a decade.
- The Guardian reported that the outgoing Serbian leader had pushed officials in Belgrade to help advance a plan promoted by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, to build a $500 million hotel complex in Belgrade.
- "Vucic's rhetoric suggests that he will likely join Orban and other populist European politicians who enjoy Trump's support but will now find themselves in opposition to what they often label 'globalist-led structures,'" he said.
- In each episode, two political heavyweights from across the EU face off to propose a diversity of opinions and spark conversations around the most important issues of EU affairs and the wider European political life.
- LED screens in the corridors announced plenaries and alternative lectures for students.
- The students were seen as naive, irrelevant, disaffected youth.
- Associating with them would have been damaging to the movement.
- All of these were reported in the October 25 elections and in previous elections, according to the Serbian election monitoring organisation CRTA, which keeps a running report of voting conditions.
- Read more: ‘We changed the system’: how Serbian students ended Alexander Vučić’s 12 years in power This was not inevitable.
- Both Al Jazeera and Balkaninsight highlighted the students' strategy of remaining independent from domestic political parties and international superpowers such as Russia, China, the EU, and the US.