„Student List – Students Win“ increased its lead over the "Alexander Vucic - United Serbia" coalition in the early parliamentary elections in Serbia. According to preliminary data from the Republican Election Commission, the opposition formation received 51.20% of the votes, or 1,849,104 votes, while Vucic's coalition received 40.16% and 1,450,528 votes.
The difference between the two formations reached 11.04 percentage points. The data are based on processed results from 7,428 out of a total of 8,392 polling stations, which represents 88.51% of the stations.
The list “Ivica Dacic – Stability Factor“ received 2.27%, or 82,085 votes. All other political formations are below 1% according to the interim results.
Vucic admitted defeat
Alexander Vucic admitted the loss of the ruling coalition on election night. “It is clear that we lost these elections, the Student List won“, he said, quoted by Reuters.
Vucic indicated that according to preliminary estimates, the “Student List“ will have between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-seat parliament, while his Serbian Progressive Party will have around 105 deputies. The final distribution of mandates has not yet been announced.
Congratulations from the European Union
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Serbian citizens and the student movement. “We are ready to support reforms in the areas of the rule of law, media freedom, the fight against corruption and strong democratic institutions“, she wrote.
Among the European representatives who congratulated the “Student List“ is the European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos. Brussels has expressed its readiness to work with the new political majority on Serbia's European future.
From protest movement to governance
The elections were called after nearly two years of student protests against corruption and the way the country is governed. The movement emerged after the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in 2024, which killed 16 people.
The candidates of the “Student List“ are university professors, experts, athletes, farmers and representatives of cultural circles. Now the formation must nominate a candidate for prime minister and build a governing majority. It faces issues related to the fight against corruption, the judiciary, relations with the European Union, Kosovo, Russia and China.
The victory changes the political balance in Serbia after more than a decade of dominance by Vučić and his party. How the government will be formed and which formations will support it will become clear after the election procedure is completed and the final results are announced.
Sources: za.investing.com, apnews.com, euronews.com