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Jóvenes celebrando de noche en una plaza de Belgrado con banderas de Serbia y fuegos artificiales
Celebración nocturna en Belgrado tras el resultado electoral en Serbia, imagen generada alusiva al triunfo del movimiento estudiantil. · Imagen generada para EPM

Students defeat Vucic's party in Serbia's election

The Student List won Serbia's early legislative elections on 25 October, according to preliminary results acknowledged by Aleksandar Vucic, with turnout of…

--- The context --- Serbia went into early legislative elections on Sunday 25 October after almost two years of student protests against corruption and what demonstrators denounced as growing government authoritarianism. The mobilisations began after the collapse of a canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad in 2024, which caused the death of 16 people and raised questions about the safety of public works, the transparency of contracting and the responsibility of the authorities. --- The facts --- The ruling party lost the elections to the Student List, according to preliminary results acknowledged by President Aleksandar Vucic himself, who admitted that his side had lost and that the student list had won. By his estimates, the student movement would win between 135 and 140 seats, while the ruling camp would obtain 105, in a parliament of 250 members, and no other political force would have entered. Turnout reached almost 70%, the highest since the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1992, with long queues outside polling stations across the country. Throughout Sunday, long queues were recorded outside polling stations in cities and localities across the country, reflecting strong citizen interest in an election that could shift the political balance after years of continuity in power. --- The positions --- Vucic acknowledged defeat in line with the preliminary results. From the movement's headquarters, Radomir Saicic, a professor at the University of Belgrade, highlighted the importance of the result and said, on behalf of the students, that the voice of the people was being heard that night and that, after celebrating victory, they would build the future the next day. In the streets of Belgrade, thousands of supporters celebrated with car horns and victory chants. --- What remains unknown --- The results are still preliminary and must be confirmed by the electoral authorities. The formation of the new authorities will depend on the official confirmation of the count and the corresponding institutional procedures, and it is not yet known how the future relationship between parliament, government and the presidency of Serbia will be ordered. --- Unanswered questions --- Will the official count confirm the estimate of 135 to 140 seats for the Student List? How will the new authorities be formed once the electoral authorities confirm the results? Will the student movement be able to turn the demands of the protests into a governing agenda on transparency and the fight against corruption? --- EPM analysis --- The triumph represents a significant change after a prolonged period of predominance by the ruling camp led by Vucic. The movement managed to transform street mobilisations into an electoral force capable of contesting and winning a parliamentary majority, and sustained pressure over almost two years led to the early call that defeated the ruling party this Sunday. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the result rewards a mobilisation sustained for almost two years and rejects years of ruling-party predominance, with turnout of almost 70% strengthening the legitimacy of the change expressed at Serbian ballot boxes. An estimated 135 to 140 seats would give the Student List a dominant position, but its immediate challenge will be turning demands against corruption into institutional government without losing the trust that carried it to this point in a new political stage for the country.
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