Vucic concedes defeat as Serbia's student-backed list leads election

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

BELGRADE, SERBIA — Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat after Serbia’s 25 October parliamentary election, with preliminary projections giving a majority to the candidate list backed by nearly two years of student protests.

The result could end the Serbian Progressive Party’s long hold on government. The Students’ List emerged from demonstrations that began after a fatal railway station collapse in Novi Sad and grew into a nationwide campaign for accountability. Serbia’s election commission has yet to confirm the final allocation of seats, and a new government has not been formed.

According to Reuters, Vucic said his side’s preliminary calculations put the Students’ List at 135 to 140 seats in the 250-member National Assembly, compared with about 105 for his alliance. A representative sample from the CeSID and Ipsos polling organisations projected 138 seats for the student-backed list and 104 for Vucic’s party. Both figures remain projections.

What Vucic’s concession means

The threshold for a parliamentary majority is 126 seats. If the Students’ List wins even the lower end of Vucic’s estimate, it would have enough seats to command a majority without another party’s support.

That prospect prompted celebrations in Belgrade after Vucic acknowledged defeat. It also marked a change from the campaign’s closing days, when the outcome remained uncertain and both sides were trying to mobilise supporters. His concession is a major political development, but it does not replace the official count or settle every question about the formation of the next government.

The CeSID and Ipsos projection leaves several seats for ethnic minority parties. Their eventual representation will depend on the certified results. Until then, projected seat totals should be described as estimates rather than a completed parliamentary tally.

How the Novi Sad disaster changed the campaign

The student movement began after a concrete canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, killing 16 people. The disaster raised questions about the station’s renovation, oversight of the work and the responsibility of public officials.

Students demanded disclosure of relevant records and accountability for the deaths. Demonstrations spread beyond the universities as other groups joined calls for an investigation into alleged corruption and failures in public administration. The protests continued for nearly two years, becoming the most significant challenge to Vucic’s governing alliance.

The election gave voters a way to respond to those demands at the ballot box. For the movement’s supporters, the vote concerned the Novi Sad case and wider confidence in Serbia’s institutions. The allegations that shaped the protests still require examination through the appropriate legal and public processes, regardless of which list forms the next government.

Who stood for the Students’ List?

Serbia’s Republic Electoral Commission registered the movement under the name “Studentska lista – Studenti pobeđuju,” or “Students’ List – Students Win.” Commission records show that it submitted 69,947 verified statements of support.

Despite its name, the list did not consist of student candidates. The Associated Press reported that students backed a slate including professionals, athletes, farmers and artists. Physician Ilija Srdanovic headed its candidate list.

That distinction matters: the students organised and supported the political challenge, while the people elected to parliament would be the candidates on the registered list. The movement sought support beyond university campuses, with campaigners travelling through towns and rural areas to meet voters.

Its next task would be different from campaigning. If the projected majority is confirmed, the list will have to decide how its candidates work together in parliament and how its pledges on public institutions, the economy and democratic reform become a governing programme.

High turnout and election-day concerns

Participation was unusually high. Reuters reported turnout approaching 70%, with long queues at polling stations. During voting, the independent monitoring organisation CRTA estimated that 56.4% of eligible voters had cast a ballot by 4 p.m.; at the same point in the 2023 election, it put turnout at 42.1%.

The student-backed list had also drawn a large crowd to its final Belgrade rally on 22 October. The independent Public Assemblies Archive estimated attendance at about 150,000, using footage of the gathering and a calculation based on its area and crowd density. That figure is an estimate, not an official count.

High participation came alongside reports of problems at some polling places. CRTA said its observers recorded voter pressure, procedural failures and incidents affecting the integrity of voting. The Associated Press also reported allegations of ballot photographing and attempted vote buying. The extent and consequences of any violations will depend on further investigation by the responsible authorities.

The end of a long period of political dominance

Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party came to power in 2012. He subsequently served as prime minister and president, becoming the dominant figure in Serbian politics. He resigned from the presidency in September 2026 to lead his alliance’s early parliamentary election campaign and seek a return to the premiership.

During the campaign, Vucic criticised the student movement, while his opponents raised concerns about corruption, media influence and the independence of public institutions. His party nonetheless retained substantial support. A projected total of around 104 or 105 seats would leave his alliance with a significant presence in parliament even after an electoral defeat.

For that reason, a change in the governing majority should not be confused with the disappearance of Vucic’s political influence. The composition of the assembly, the transfer of responsibility and the new government’s first decisions will show how far the shift extends.

What happens next?

The Republic Electoral Commission must complete and publish the election results. Once the number of seats for each list is confirmed, the process of constituting parliament and forming a government can proceed.

If the projections hold, the Students’ List will be in a position to form a majority government. Its priorities will be closely watched in Serbia and abroad, including by the European Union, which has long monitored the country’s democratic institutions and electoral conditions.

For now, the established election-night development is clear: Vucic has conceded, and the student-backed list is projected to win a parliamentary majority. The certified result and the composition of Serbia’s next government are still to come.

WiseNewsPress.com

Editorial verification, outside the article copy: Reuters reported Vucic’s concession and the CeSID–Ipsos seat projections; the Republic Electoral Commission records the list’s verified support statements; AP reported the candidate makeup and Vucic’s resignation from the presidency. www.reuters.com