Serbia’s longtime strongman Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat Sunday in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse, student-led opposition movement that lasted two years. protest against his government.
It was a seismic political shift in the Balkan country where Vucic, who had been backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and had denounced the student movement as a foreign attempt to overthrow him, ruled with virtually absolute power for 14 years.
High turnout and tensions marked the hotly contested legislative election, which was a clash between Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party and university students who, accusing the government of corruption and dismantling democracy, had built a popular following across the country.
Serbia’s 6.4 million voters elected lawmakers in the 250-member parliament. In conceding the election, Vucic said his party predicted its opponents, the youth-backed Student List, would win between 135 and 140 seats, while his SNS party would have around 105.
“The Student List won,” Vucic told supporters at his party’s election night, while blaming independent Serbian media as well as alleged interference from unnamed European countries and an “American deep state” for the defeat.
Samir Jordamovic/Anadolu via Getty Images 
Vucic said his party, the SNS, won about 1.7 million votes, compared to 2.2 million for the Student List.
Student List supporters immediately took to the streets of Belgrade and other cities, honking their horns, shouting and chanting: “Aleksandar is gone,” referring to Vucic.
The result, which Vucic announced only about an hour and a half after polling closed, came after tensions grew as voting progressed through the day.
Police in riot gear cordoned off an area of central Belgrade around the electoral commission headquarters. Special police vehicles could be seen near a Belgrade park where Vucic loyalists have camped for more than a year, and large groups of men dressed in black had gathered at different points in the city.
Vucic was seeking to become prime minister of Serbia after serving two almost full terms as president. He resigned from the presidency last month to lead the campaign.
Support for the populist has eroded since 16 people were killed in 2024 when a concrete canopy collapsed at a Novi Sad train station. This sparked a wave of protests by young people who blamed high-level corruption, cronyism and rampant bribery during the station’s renovation work for the collapse.
Despite the protests, Vucic retained considerable support among many Serbian voters. Admirers saw him as a capable leader, capable of steering the nation through global uncertainties – an image carefully crafted by the mainstream media.
While the increasingly authoritarian Vucic has regularly dominated Serbia’s divided opposition in the past, the leaderless youth movement has proven to be a tough opponent that has shaken his firm grip on power in Serbia like no other in the 14 years since his party took power.
The new Student List movement was shaped by university students, but none were actually on the electoral roll. Its candidates tend to be little-known experts, athletes, farmers and artists.
This approach aimed to counteract Vucic’s one-man rule and restore a sense of community and solidarity. The students’ message during the campaign focused on a nonpartisan effort to rebuild Serbia’s economy and restore its democracy.
Students used their youthful energy to attract voters disillusioned with local politicians. Vilified by pro-government media, they traveled the country by bike and on foot to reach voters in rural areas – Vucic’s traditional strongholds.
The student victory echoes the recent electoral defeat of a Vucic ally in Hungary, where youth participation helped topple the autocratic Viktor Orbán after 16 years and install a new pro-European government. This is likely to resonate beyond Serbia, as countries across Europe face angry protests from youth and students.
Observers predict that total voter turnout in the elections could reach around 70%, something not seen in Serbia since 2000. During the day, long queues formed at polling stations in Serbia and in cities around the world. Some members of the Serbian diaspora were forced to vote in the middle of the night after authorities linked voting times to local Serbian time.
Recent Serbian elections were marred by irregularities and the EU was closely monitoring Sunday’s vote in a country seeking membership in the bloc.
Independent election observers on Sunday reported dozens of cases of irregularities, including photographs of ballots suggesting pressure on voters and attempts to buy votes.
International and local election observers have expressed concerns about the security and fairness of an election campaign marked by detentions, near-total government control of the media and reports of surveillance and cyberattacks on activists.
Local elections earlier this year in 10 municipalities across Serbia were marked by violent attacks on journalists and activists. The previous parliamentary vote, in 2023, was followed by opposition protests alleging fraud.
Gn world
