Student List Defeats Vucic in Serbian Vote

Aleksandar Vucic admitted defeat on Sunday after losing snap parliamentary elections to a student-led movement that spent nearly two years protesting his leadership. The outcome marks the end of his direct control over Serbian politics, a position he held for over a decade. Vucic, the head of the Serbian Progressive Party, told supporters that the results were clear.

Voter turnout in Sunday's vote was the highest recorded in Serbia in more than 30 years. Preliminary samples indicate that Vucic's list will secure 105 seats in the 250-member parliament. The Student List is projected to win between 135 and 140 seats, giving it a decisive majority.

The Student List emerged from the death of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024. The initial youth protests expanded into a wider wave of social unrest before becoming a political platform. The group pledged to combat corruption, depoliticize public institutions, and restore citizens' rights. Ilija Srdanovic, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad, led the campaign. Vucic had previously dismissed the demonstrators, including professors, doctors, and workers, as "blockaders" seeking to destabilize the country.

Vucic, born in Belgrade in 1970, entered politics in 1993 with the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party. His early record included nationalist rhetoric, such as a 1995 statement in parliament that if one Serb was killed, 100 Muslims would be killed. The Radical Party's former leader, Vojislav Seselj, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018 for persecution and deportation of non-Serbs during the Balkan wars. Seselj's son, Aleksandar, appeared on Vucic's list for this election.

Vucic and Tomislav Nikolic founded the Serbian Progressive Party in 2008 to move closer to mainstream European politics. Journalist Safeta Bisevac noted that Vucic was initially less popular than Nikolic and served as the party's organizer. The party took power in 2012 with promises to fight corruption and organized crime. Bisevac described the party's performance as modest while authorities expanded their control over institutions, media, and political life.

Vucic served as first deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2014, then as prime minister before becoming president in 2017. He won re-election in 2022, with his term originally set to end in 2027. Resigning in September under pressure from protests, he called for early elections while maintaining influence over state policy. Bisevac said Vucic established near-complete control over the state apparatus despite fulfilling few promises.

Official data shows the economy grew under Vucic, with unemployment falling from 26 percent to between 8 and 9 percent. Nominal GDP nearly tripled to about 90 billion euros, and annual foreign direct investment rose from roughly 800 million euros in 2012 to a record 5.2 billion euros in 2024. A network of modern motorways was also constructed. However, higher wages have not always matched rising living standards, keeping cost of living and public debt central to the debate. Political scientist Dusko Radosavljevic stated that the students gave voice to justified citizen anger during a decade of systematic pressure and the destruction of social institutions.