Serbia’s student movement ousts longtime leader in parliamentary poll

Serbia’s student-led movement declared victory in parliamentary elections Sunday ending 14 years in power for Aleksandar Vucic’s right-wing populist party.

The victory in the snap vote comes after nearly two years of anti-government protests sparked by the 2024 collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad railway station that killed 16 people.

The disaster has been widely blamed on corruption and triggered some of Serbia’s largest protests since the fall of strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

“Preliminary results show that students are convincingly leading in almost all polling stations,” Radomir Saicic, a candidate for the Students’ List, said in a speech at the movement’s election HQ.

“Students won and with them also a hope that Serbia can be a country of justice, freedom and dignity.”

Voters cast ballots in huge numbers on Sunday, with the country recording its highest parliamentary election turnout in more than three decades.

Vucic conceded defeat less than two hours after polls closed, triggering raucous scenes in the capital as supporters of the movement celebrated the defeat of a government they blamed for deep-rooted corruption.

“I feel incredible,” student Mila Martic told AFP from the List’s headquarters. “I feel as though I am finally living in a free country.”

Thousands poured into the capital’s streets to celebrate the victory, with passing cars honking, crowds chanting, and fireworks lighting up the skyline.

According to the country’s election officials, nearly 65% of its 6.4 million registered voters had cast their ballots by 6pm, two hours before polls closed.

The figure surpassed the 1993 parliamentary election, when just over 61% voted.

‘Dream has come true’

During his speech to supporters, Vucic said preliminary figures suggested the student movement could win between 135 and 140 seats, handing it an outright majority in the 250-seat parliament.

The 56-year-old statesman, who has maintained close ties with Russia throughout his tenure, blamed foreign powers for the result.

“I want people to know, this was the validation of a revolution carried out with the direct support of various European countries and the US deep state, the one that is also against President Trump,” he said.

For nearly two years, students have staged rallies and marched across the Balkan nation to reach voters directly and counter the media machine of Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party.

Their protests have drawn huge crowds, a final pre-election rally in Belgrade on Thursday attracting around 150,000 people, according to an independent protest monitor.

“A two-year-long dream has come true,” Mirjana Nikolic, a candidate on the Students’ List, said shortly after the win was announced.

Political novices

Most of the student list’s 250 candidates are experts from fields including academia and the arts with little political experience.

The movement has a broad platform, centred on a pledge to fight corruption.

It evolved from demands for a transparent investigation into the Novi Sad tragedy into calls for an early election.

Despite pushing back against the movement for almost two years, Vucic under mounting pressure, called the vote last month, citing “major turbulence on the domestic political scene”.

The right-wing populist leader resigned the presidency to run for prime minister.

Domestic and international observers were monitoring the vote, with students mobilising large numbers of volunteers to oversee the process.

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