Symbolic imageStudent List wins Serbian election as Vučić concedes
Serbia's student-led list won Sunday's snap parliamentary election, and Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat. Turnout was the highest since 1992.
On Sunday, 25 October, Vučić told supporters at his party headquarters in Belgrade that "we have lost these elections", expecting 135 to 140 seats for the Student List and 105 for his SNS, based on a sample. A CeSID projection put the list at 138 seats (Guardian) or 139 (Handelsblatt) and the SNS at 104, with the rest going to minority parties. Handelsblatt reports about 52 percent for the Student List and 39 percent for the SNS. Turnout was 67.6% by 7 p.m., according to CeSID and Ipsos, the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Tens of thousands celebrated on Belgrade's Slavija square.
Open question of who governs
Who becomes prime minister is unclear, Handelsblatt reports; list leader Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist, is not automatically the candidate. FAZ notes that a presidential election follows in December, where an SNS win is also uncertain.
From Novi Sad to the ballot
The protests began after a station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, killing 16 people. Vučić resigned the presidency on 27 September to run for prime minister, Le Monde reports. Monitors CeSID and CRTA noted incidents involving the electoral roll and secrecy of voting.