Student List Wins Majority as Vučić Concedes Defeat

Serbia’s Student List won an outright parliamentary majority in the snap election on 25 October. With 8,077 of 8,392 polling stations processed, the Republic Election Commission (RIK) put the list on 52.54% — about 2.21 million votes — against 39.29% for “Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia”. Later counts cited by the EU put the Student List at 52.71% and 140 of 250 seats.

Aleksandar Vučić, who resigned as president in September to lead his party’s list, conceded less than two hours after polls closed. “It is clear that we have lost these elections,” he told supporters.

Seats and turnout

CeSID projected 140 seats for the Student List and 103 for United Serbia, with the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians on three, the Albanian Coalition on two and two further minority lists on one each. A majority requires 126 seats. RIK recorded turnout of 64.9% by 6pm, the highest since 1992.

A vote shaped by protest

The movement emerged from protests that began after the canopy at Novi Sad railway station collapsed on 1 November 2024, killing 16 people. Its 250 candidates — many from medicine, education and the sciences — were chosen through university assemblies, and several opposition parties stood aside to back it.

Domestic monitors reported problems: CRTA recorded pressure on voters or election workers at almost a third of the roughly 500 stations it watched, and CeSID logged about 260 potential irregularities by late afternoon. Celebrations continued late into the night in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities.