Serbia Holds Snap Parliamentary Election: Vučić vs. Student List

Serbia is holding snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, 25 October. The vote is seen as a contest between former president Aleksandar Vučić and the student movement that has led protests against him for almost two years. The result will determine which political force shapes the country's new parliament.

Polling stations are open from 7:00 to 20:00. Nearly 6.5 million citizens are eligible to vote, with balloting at more than 8,000 polling stations. Just over 100,000 voters have registered to vote abroad. Queues formed at polling stations in Belgrade and Novi Sad before opening at 7:00.

Two main contenders

Eighteen lists are running, but in practice the race is between Vučić's right-wing Serbian Progressive Party and the youth-backed "Student List". Vučić has been put forward as the candidate for prime minister. The two main rivals went into the vote almost level, which makes this election the least predictable in recent years.

According to an Ipsos poll published on Thursday, Vučić's party led with 47%, against 40% for the student movement. Other polls showed the Student List ahead. High turnout is expected, and most smaller parties may fail to clear the 3% threshold needed to enter parliament.

How the vote came about

The snap election was called on 9 September by Vučić, who was still president at the time. At the end of September he resigned from the post. The vote follows almost two years of student demonstrations against corruption and authoritarianism under Vučić. The protests were triggered by the 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. Since then, the students have gained broad public support.

The previous parliamentary elections in Serbia took place on 17 December 2023.