Serbia votes in historic election as students seek to end Vucic’s long grip on power

Serbians voted in record numbers in Sunday’s parliamentary election as a mass student protest movement sought to unseat longtime populist leader Aleksandar Vucic in the biggest challenge to his rule for more than a decade. The snap parliamentary elections, called by Vucic in September, come after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a railway station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024. The students have since gained widespread support. Long lines snaked from polling stations in cities and towns across the country, and even Vucic waited for nearly two hours to vote. Pollsters and monitors CeSID and Ipsos put turnout at 67.6% by 7 p.m., the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992. Polls closed at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) and first indications of results are expected around 10 p.m. A student victory would be a profound political shift in the Balkan country of some 6 million people, reminiscent of the defeat of Hungary’s Viktor Orban in April. It could also offer a blueprint for other student movements across Europe, which have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest, in some cases violently, against poor education standards and a lack of prospects. “(The turnout) did not surprise me because there was a large and strong mass that has formed throughout the past two years,” said voter Katarina Petrovic. Vucic, who resigned from his second term as president to run again for prime minister, is a strong incumbent. Many voters thank him for pulling Serbia from economic obscurity and orchestrating a period of sustained modernisation including new highways, railways, schools and hospitals. OPINION POLLS PREDICTED TIGHT RACE Vucic has pledged higher pensions and public sector salaries, and investment in state healthcare. Internationally, he has sought closer ties with China, a major investor, and remained close to Russia, Serbia’s traditional ally and principal supplier of natural gas. At the same time, he still says he wants to join the European Union, Serbia’s largest trading partner, but the bloc has become increasingly frustrated with a lack of reform. “I voted for our children, our young people…our children deserve peace and work, only Vucic can bring that,” said Hatidza, a Roma woman. The students’ domestic agenda aims to root out graft and improve schooling, but they have been quieter on their international ambitions. Their list of 250 largely unknown candidates includes university professors, actors and farmers, and is led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, although it is not clear who would be prime minister should they win. “I hope that today will pass in a democratic atmosphere, in peace, and that we will legitimately elect a new government in Serbia,” Srdanovic said after casting his vote in Novi Sad early in the morning. After casting his vote, Vucic said he would respect the result. “If we lose we will acknowledge the will of the electorate, if we win no one will take it (from us),” he said. Opinion polls ahead of the vote had predicted a tight race to win the 250-seat parliament. The head of the Election Commission, Vladimir Dimitrijevic, said voting had passed without incident, but the EU’s ambassador to Serbia, Andreas von Beckerath, expressed concern in a post on X about “reported violent incidents” at several polling stations. Monitoring bodies CeSID and CRTA pointed to incidents related to the electoral roll and secrecy of voting. STUDENT PROTESTS INCREASE PRESSURE ON VUCIC The student-led street protests sparked by the station disaster quickly became the biggest in a generation, calling for Vucic to step down. Rights groups and activists say repression has worsened in the period since. “For decades the people have been waiting for this time, something to bring hope that we can live freely and by the rules of democracy,” said actor Jelena Stupljanin, 48, at a Belgrade polling station. Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have repeatedly denied accusations of repression, corruption and spying on their opponents. He says the students are funded by foreign agents in Croatia and Montenegro, a charge the students dismiss. “This has been one of the most difficult but the most emotional campaigns,” Vucic told his supporters on Thursday. “We stood against those who wanted to destroy Serbia.”