Serbia votes Sunday as student movement challenges Vučić's 12-year rule

Serbia holds a snap parliamentary election on Sunday, billed as a referendum on the country's future and a threat to the 12-year hold on power of populist leader Aleksandar Vučić. The main challenge comes from a student movement that took to the streets after a disaster in Novi Sad, while concerns remain over how fair the vote will be. Rallies took place across the country on Thursday, the last day of campaigning.

How the movement began

The movement started on 1 November 2024, when a concrete canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city, killing 16 people. The tragedy was seen as a symbol of corruption and negligence, and critics linked the station's flawed renovation to the president, who had closely associated himself with the project.

Weekly student protests on campuses and city streets soon grew into a national movement that drew in farmers, actors and judges. The prime minister resigned within weeks. In March 2025, Belgrade saw one of its largest protests ever. The movement has no leaders and organises through student assemblies, known as plenums.

The Student List and Vučić

The "Student List – Students Win" attracts anti-government voters nationwide. The candidates are not themselves students but teachers, professors, actors, doctors, farmers and scientists. The top candidate is cardiologist Ilija Srdanović, and the list also includes former basketball star Dejan Bodiroga and former National Bank of Serbia governor Dejan Šoškić. Its 11-point programme includes eradicating corruption, purging the interior ministry and reforming the media. Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party deny corruption and seeking to influence the media.

Vučić has been prime minister or president since 2014 and cannot run for a third presidential term, so he is leading his party in an effort to return as prime minister. He has alleged that his opponents are "mighty great powers" rather than students, claims the source describes as unfounded.

Rules and concerns

Parliament has 250 seats, and 6.45 million people are registered to vote. Eighteen lists are running, but only seven field the full 250 candidates. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has described a "tense and divisive electoral climate", while the independent watchdog CRTA reports threats, violence and surveillance of opposition activists.