Student List wins Serbian election in political earthquake

BELGRADE —Serbia’s outgoing President Aleksandar Vucic has conceded defeat to a student-led movement in a historic election that ends his long grip on power ​and heralds a new political era in the Balkan country.The Student List won the country’s parliamentary election on Sunday, marking a dramatic breakthrough for a movement that emerged from months of student protests and rapidly transformed itself into the country’s most important political force.The snap elections, called by Vucic in September, ‌came ⁠after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism triggered by the ​deaths of ​16 ⁠people when a train station canopy collapsed in the ​city of Novi Sad in ​2024.In a brief statement to the nation, Vučić conceded defeat and declared that the Student List has won the majority in parliament.Belgrade, Serbia, October 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)BELGRADE, Serbia (Reuters) – Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in a historic election on Sunday that ends his long grip on power and heralds a new political era in the Balkan country.Vucic, a populist and nationalist, has dominated Serbian politics as prime minister or president since 2014.But he called snap elections in September after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism, triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024.“It is clear that we have lost these elections, the Student List has won,” Vucic said in a televised speech.Within moments of his announcement, the streets of Belgrade erupted in celebration. Tens of thousands of people thronged along the city’s main boulevards, with cars honking, people dancing and students shouting “victory” and “he’s done.”Vučić said that “based on the stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost the election,” adding that “the Student List has won and will have between 135 and 140 seats, while we will have around 105.“No one else has entered parliament. The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) has won three seats, the Albanians one, and I think the SDA has also secured a seat,” he added.The Serbian Progressive Party received around 1.72 million votes, admitted Vučić. The Student List won 2.2 million, giving it a majority of 52% to 32.3 %.European leaders and officials congratulated the Student List on its victory, among them President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.“We stand ready to…work together to advance Serbia’s future in the European Union,” von der Leyen wrote on X.Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar assured the students of his country’s support.The result represents far more than a change in the distribution of parliamentary seats. It is a profound rejection of the political model that has dominated Serbia for more than a decade.The Student List’s victory is particularly significant because it was not created as a conventional political party. Its origins lie in the student protests that became a powerful expression of dissatisfaction with the country’s political institutions, the government, corruption allegations, media conditions and what many protesters described as a lack of accountability.What began as a protest movement has therefore achieved something considerably more difficult — it has translated street mobilisation into electoral legitimacy.The result suggests that the movement managed to attract voters far beyond the university campuses where the protests began. Young people were its most visible supporters, but the electoral coalition appears to have extended to parts of the urban middle class, opposition-minded voters and citizens who had previously been reluctant to support established opposition parties.For the ruling establishment, the result is a major political setback.For years, Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party dominated Serbian politics through a combination of strong electoral organisation, extensive political influence, control over a large part of the media environment and a highly personalised political strategy centred on Vučić himself.The election result indicates that this model has reached a critical limit.The transition from protest movement to government could therefore prove much harder than winning the election for the Student List.The students will now have to demonstrate that their political legitimacy can be transformed into effective state governance.