The Student List has won the early parliamentary elections in Serbia, announced former President Aleksandar Vucic, who headed the list “Alexander Vucic – United Serbia“. He admitted the defeat of his political formation, specifying that the final results are not yet ready.
“It is clear that we lost these elections. The Student List won”, Vucic told his supporters. According to him, the opposition list will have between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-seat Assembly, while his coalition will receive about 105 seats. Vučić added that the Student List will be able to independently form a parliamentary majority.
The preliminary assessment by Ipsos and the Center for Free Elections and Democracy CeSID, with a processed sample result of 80.8%, gives the Student List 52.7% of the vote, or about 140 seats. The list “United Serbia“ receives 38.9% and 104 seats according to this projection. An earlier assessment by the same organizations gave 139 seats to the students and 104 to the coalition around Vučić.
According to preliminary data, other majority lists do not pass the general election threshold. The exception is the formations that participate under the rules for representing national minorities, including the Union of Hungarians of Vojvodina.
Celebrations in Belgrade
After Vučić's statement, supporters of the Student List took to the streets of Belgrade. Cars honked their horns, pyrotechnics were used, and groups of motorcyclists headed towards the center of the capital. Celebrants broke through the fence around the Pioneer Park, located opposite the parliament building.
A tent camp of Vučić's supporters had previously been set up in the park. After the recognition of the election defeat, the camp remained empty. Serbian state broadcaster RTS also reported a fire in the area, which was extinguished by citizens until firefighters arrived.
Victory comes after nearly two years of protests
The elections were called after almost two years of student protests against the government and the way the country is run. The demonstrations began after the collapse of a canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad in 2024, which killed 16 people. The student movement gradually became the main opposition force and entered the elections with its own list.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar congratulated the leaders of the Student List even before the final results were published and said that Hungary was ready to support them. The leader of the Union of Independent Social Democrats, Milorad Dodik, also congratulated the winners. He said that Republika Srpska and Serbia will continue to act together.
The next step is the announcement of the final results and the constitution of the new parliament. If the preliminary forecasts are confirmed, the Student List will be able to begin the procedure for forming an independent government.
Sources: abc.net.au, apnews.com, rts.rs