Student-backed list claims victory in Serbia as Vucic concedes defeat
Supporters of Serbia’s student-backed electoral list celebrated in Belgrade on Sunday night after election projections indicated an outright parliamentary majority, while former president Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat.
The Student List is projected to win 140 seats in the 250-member parliament with 52.9 per cent of the vote, according to CeSID–Ipsos estimates released on October 26, based on 96 per cent of their sample. The Vucic-led United Serbia list is projected to take 103 seats with 38.8 per cent. Official confirmation remains pending.
The outcome would end the Serbian Progressive Party’s (SNS) parliamentary majority after more than a decade of political dominance.
Crowds gathered in central Belgrade, cheering, chanting and lighting flares. Celebrations spilled onto roads, slowing traffic as drivers and motorcyclists sounded their horns and exchanged victory signs with bystanders.
Addressing supporters in Belgrade, Vucic acknowledged the student-backed list’s victory but pledged to challenge the incoming government from opposition.
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“The student blockade list won,” he said.
In his election-night remarks, Vucic estimated that the student-backed movement would secure between 135 and 140 seats, compared with around 105 for his own side.
“We will have 105 MPs, 100, 105, 106, when it matters, and we will fight and show them what an opposition is,” he said.
Vucic also accused foreign powers of helping bring about his defeat, alleging support from European countries and what he called the American “deep state”.
“This was the verification of a revolution carried out with the direct support of various European countries and the American deep state, the one that opposed President Trump,” he claimed.
He predicted that Serbia’s next government would impose sanctions on Russia by March or April, accusing his opponents of concealing their intentions during the campaign.
“They will do everything they didn’t want to tell you, everything they lied about,” he said.
The election followed nearly two years of student-led anti-corruption protests triggered by the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people.
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Estimated turnout reached 69.3 per cent, according to CeSID–Ipsos.
The Student List’s projected 140 seats would put it above the 126 needed for a parliamentary majority, allowing it to form a government without support from other electoral lists.
Election authorities must finalise the results before the new parliament convenes and the government-formation process begins.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
