BELGRADE, October 26. /Dunyo IA/. Serbia’s student-led protest movement has won the snap parliamentary elections, with Aleksandar Vučić, leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), conceding defeat for his political camp, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

“We still do not have final results... it is clear that we have lost these elections,” DW News quoted Aleksandar Vučić as saying. According to his preliminary estimate, the Student List will secure between 135 and 140 of the 250 seats in parliament, while the SNS will win 105 seats.

According to Serbia’s Central Election Commission, voter turnout reached 64.9% by 6 p.m. on Sunday. Serbian media described this as a record high since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992.

Following Aleksandar Vučić’s announcement, crowds took to the streets of Belgrade to celebrate the student movement’s victory. Celebrations also took place in Novi Sad, a city in northern Serbia where mass protests erupted following a deadly railway station disaster.

The Student List emerged amid public outrage over the collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, which killed 16 people. The tragedy prompted accusations of corruption and government negligence. The movement brought together opponents of the current leadership and fielded parliamentary candidates from various professional backgrounds, including doctors, actors, academics and athletes.

Among the movement’s main demands are combating corruption and ensuring media freedom. “This will be a free state,” Ilija Srdanović, the Student List’s leading candidate, said, expressing hope that the country would overcome authoritarian tendencies.

Aleksandar Vučić, who had served two terms as president and was ineligible to seek a third, had aimed to return to the position of prime minister, which he left in 2017. During the election campaign, he pledged to increase pensions and public-sector salaries, as well as boost investment in state healthcare.

At the time of his announcement, the final election results had not yet been published. His projected distribution of parliamentary seats remains preliminary, and the final composition of parliament is to be confirmed by the electoral authorities.

Photo credit: RIA Novosti