Serbia’s student-led movement has won a parliamentary election, with Aleksandar Vučić, the country’s former president, conceding defeat. The movement, known as the Student List, is likely to win at least 135 seats in Serbia’s 250-seat parliament.
According to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), the Student List has won 53.3 per cent of the vote, with 2.2 million votes, while Vučić’s United Serbia ticket has won 39.7 per cent. The turnout was close to 70 per cent, the highest since the break-up of Yugoslavia.
Election Results
The RIK has counted ballots from 96.8 per cent of polling stations, and the results show a clear victory for the Student List. Vučić’s concession came shortly after polling stations closed, with the former president stating that “we have lost these elections, the Student List has won.”
The student movement’s victory is a significant upset, given that Vučić had been in power for 12 years and had called a snap parliamentary election in an attempt to become prime minister. The movement’s success can be attributed to its ability to mobilize young people and capitalize on discontent with Vučić’s government.
The students’ campaign was marked by a series of protests that began in 2024 after the collapse of a railway station in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. The protests grew into the largest since Slobodan Milošević was toppled in 2000.
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Challenges Ahead
The Student List’s victory presents a number of challenges, including the need to form a government and address the country’s economic woes. The economy is in a fragile state, with growth slowing to 2 per cent in 2025 and net foreign direct investment halving. The outgoing government’s decision to rebalance the budget and lift the deficit target to 3.5 per cent of GDP has also raised concerns.
The students will also need to work through the country’s relationships with the European Union and Russia. The EU has offered to “work together to advance Serbia’s future in the European Union,” but the student movement has promised to maintain its “principled stance” against EU sanctions on Russia.
One of the key challenges facing the new government will be the fate of NIS, the oil company that owns Serbia’s only refinery, which has been under American sanctions since October 2025. The company’s majority owner, Gazprom Neft, has been in talks to sell its stake to MOL, a Hungarian energy group, but the talks have reportedly collapsed.
The fate of NIS is a significant concern, as it is the single biggest risk to growth this year, according to Saša Ranđelović of Belgrade’s Faculty of Economics. The company’s situation is further complicated by the fact that MOL’s licence from the US Treasury to keep negotiating expires on October 30.
Forming a Government
The final results of the election are due around October 29, after which the new assembly has 30 days to meet and a further 90 to elect a government. Ana Brnabić, the outgoing speaker and a Vučić loyalist, has been acting president since September 28, a job that passes to whoever becomes the new speaker.
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