Serbian President-turned-premier hopeful Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat on Sunday after a parliamentary election in which his right-wing party faced a broad student-led opposition movement that had protested against his government for two years.
The result marked a major political shift in Serbia, where Vucic had held near-absolute power for 14 years. Despite endorsements from Russian President Vladimir Putin, he blamed independent media and alleged foreign interference for his party’s defeat.
Vucic said preliminary projections showed the student-backed Students’ List winning 135 to 140 seats in the 250-member Parliament, while his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) would secure around 105 seats. The country has 6.4 million voters.
“It is now clear that we have lost and the Students’ List has won,” Vucic told supporters.
Celebrations erupted in Belgrade and other cities, with crowds chanting slogans and dismantling tents at a park where Vucic loyalists had camped for more than a year. Some young people threw rocks at departing police vehicles.
The election followed widespread protests triggered by the 2024 collapse of a concrete canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. Demonstrators blamed corruption and cronyism for the disaster.
The Students’ List, organised by university students, fielded professionals, athletes, farmers and artists rather than students themselves. Its campaign focused on restoring democracy, fighting corruption and rebuilding the economy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the movement, pledging EU support for reforms on the rule of law, media freedom and anti-corruption.
Independent monitors reported suspected electoral irregularities, including ballot photographing and attempted vote buying. Observers had also raised concerns over media control, detentions, surveillance and cyberattacks against activists.
Turnout was projected at around 70%, the highest since 2000, as the EU closely monitored the vote in Serbia, an EU membership candidate.