Student-led movement defeats Serbian president Vucic in snap election

Summarised from 5 outlets · 7 reports · Updated 26 Oct, 06:27 · Archive

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in parliamentary elections to a student-led movement after nearly two years of protests.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat Sunday in snap parliamentary elections to a student-led movement that has protested against his rule for nearly two years. Based on preliminary results, Vucic told supporters it was 'clear that we have lost these elections'. The Student List, which fielded 250 candidates ranging from academics to farmers and athletes, won between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-seat parliament, whilst Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party won around 105 seats. A handful of minority parties won the remaining seats.

The snap election followed Vucic's resignation as president on 27 September. Vucic has been a dominant figure in Serbian politics since 2012 and has ruled either as president or prime minister since 2014. The election was triggered by student-led protests that intensified after 16 people died when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in November 2024. The protests broadened into a movement against perceived corruption and authoritarianism.

Voter turnout reached 67.6 per cent, the highest since Yugoslavia's dissolution in 1992, according to local pollsters and monitors. Opinion polls ahead of the election had shown varying predictions, with some suggesting a close contest that raised concerns about post-election violence. The movement's candidates included academics, professionals and public figures selected by student plenums, despite the 'Student List' name.

Radomir Saicic, an academic and Student List candidate, celebrated at the movement's headquarters in New Belgrade on Sunday night, saying: 'This is a victory of courage over fear, a victory of hope over indifference, a victory of faith that Serbia can and must be different.' Hundreds of thousands of people flooded streets across Serbia, particularly in Belgrade and Novi Sad, setting off flares and celebrating what they described as a reversal of fortunes after nearly two years of street protests.

Vucic accused the student-led movement of being stooges of foreign governments, which they dismissed. During the campaign, Vucic, a former ultranationalist born in Belgrade in 1970, presented himself as capable of navigating between Belgrade's ties with the west, Russia and China, and promised to raise pensions and salaries in the public sector. The student movement was led during the election campaign by Ilija Srdanovic, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad, and promised to tackle corruption, depoliticise public institutions and restore citizens' rights.

How it is being reported

• Serbia wakes up to new reality after student-led movement ousts Vučić – Europe liveHopes raised for a reset in relations with EU and other partners following the defeat of authoritarian president Serbian leader ousted by student movement in seismic election Serbia wakes up to a new reality this morning after a grassroots opposition movement led by students ousted the country’s former authoritarian president Aleksandar Vučić , raising hopes for a new opening in relations with the EU and other partners. With 96.9% polling stations processed , the Student List has 52.6% of votes, well ahead of Vučić’s bloc at 39.22%. Continue reading...Guardian World · 26 Oct, 09:00
• Aleksandar Vucic defeated in Serbia election as student protest movement claims historic winThe snap elections came following nearly two years of student-driven demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianismIndependent World · 26 Oct, 08:28
• ‘This is a symbol for Europe’: streets of Belgrade resound with joy after Vučić defeatHundreds of thousands mark student-led victory on the same streets that were once the scene of police beatings Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić ousted by student movement in seismic election Standing on the streets of Belgrade, as passing cars honked excitedly and revellers high-fived police officers, Sara, 24, gestures to the streets around her to explain just how much things had changed for Serbia’s student-led movement. Moments earlier, the country’s longstanding leader, Aleksandar Vučić, had conceded defeat to the student movement, ushering in a seismic political shift in the Balkan…The Guardian · 26 Oct, 05:45
• Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian leader brought down by studentsSerbia's longtime leader concedes defeat to a student-led protest movement in parliamentary elections.Al Jazeera · 26 Oct, 05:24
• Serbia's strongman leader Vucic concedes defeat to student movementSerbia's longtime nationalist leader Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat Sunday in snap parliamentary elections to a student-led opposition movement.UPI · 26 Oct, 05:20
• Serbia's streets ERUPT after conservative leader concedes election defeat to student-led movementSerbia's streets have erupted after its long-standing conservative leader conceded the election to a student-led movement. Aleksandar Vučić, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), admitted it was "clear that we have lost these elections". Mr Vučić has been a dominant figure in Serbian politics since 2012, and has ruled as either President or Prime Minister since 2014. But he was forced to call a snap parliamentary election after almost two years of protests against perceived corruption and authoritarianism, triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in…GB News · 26 Oct, 04:25
• Longtime Serbian President Vucic concedes defeat in snap electionSerbian President Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat Sunday in an election that saw a student-led protest movement surge ahead.UPI · 25 Oct, 23:15

In this story: Aleksandar Vucic · Serbian Progressive Party · Student List · Serbia · Novi Sad · Belgrade · Ilija Srdanovic · Radomir Saicic

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