Students win elections in Serbia and promise changes

Aserbia’s electoral authorities today proclaimed the final results of the October 25 vote, paving the way for the formation of parliament and government, which will be dominated by the student movement that defeated the bloc of former President Aleksandar Vucic.

The Student List Group will have 140 parliamentarians in the 250-member assembly, while the Serbian Progressive Party of Vucic will have 103, the Electoral Commission of the Republic informed. The remaining parliamentary seats will belong to ethnic minority parties in Serbia.

The students led two years of protests on the streets before overthrowing Vucic in the elections. The protests broke out in response to the collapse of a railway station, which killed 16 people in the north of the country in November 2024 — an episode associated with corruption in state infrastructure projects.

The candidates on the Student List were mostly teachers, teachers and other experts in their fields, but with very little political experience; now they will take seats in Parliament. The group promised to restore the rule of law and end corruption which, they say, flourished under Vucic's leadership.

Serbian electoral rules stipulate that Parliament's inaugural session should take place within 30 days.

The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) ruled the country virtually without opposition for 14 years, controlling all spheres of power and state institutions and faced accusations of corruption, favoring and ties to organized crime — claims it denies.

The victory of the student movement had repercussions beyond the borders of Serbia, at a time when many European countries face protests led by young people.

Serbia formally seeks to join the European Union, but the process has stagnated under the leadership of Vucic, which has maintained close relations with Russia and China.