{"id":3300,"date":"2026-10-26T09:03:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T04:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3300"},"modified":"2026-10-26T09:03:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T04:03:45","slug":"serbias-vucic-concedes-defeat-in-historic-election-win-for-student-protest-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3300","title":{"rendered":"Serbia’s Vucic concedes defeat in historic election win for student protest movement"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Serbia\u2019s Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in a historic election on Sunday that ends his long grip on power and \u200bheralds a new political era in the Balkan country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vucic, a populist and nationalist, has dominated Serbian politics as prime minister or president since 2014.<\/p>\n

But he called snap elections in September \u200cafter almost two years of student-led demonstrations<\/a> against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism, triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that we have lost these elections; the Student List has won,\u201d Vucic said in a televised speech.<\/p>\n

Within moments of his announcement, the streets of Belgrade erupted in celebration<\/a>. Tens of thousands of people thronged along the city\u2019s main boulevards, with cars honking, people dancing and students shouting \u201cvictory\u201d and \u201che\u2019s done\u201d.<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 \u200bwin marks a profound political shift in the country of some 6 million people and is reminiscent of the defeat of Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n

It may also offer a blueprint for \u200bother student movements across Europe, which have taken to the streets<\/a> in recent weeks to protest, in some cases violently,<\/a> against poor education standards and a lack of prospects.<\/p>\n

Vucic \u2060said the students would have between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-seat parliament and that his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) would have 105, based on preliminary results.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Serbia, tonight the voice of the people is \u200bbeing heard,\u201d said Radomir Sajcic, a professor at Belgrade University, speaking on behalf of the students at their headquarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight we celebrate victory, tomorrow we build the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

European leaders and officials congratulated the Student List on its victory,<\/a> among \u200bthem President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand ready to\u2026work together to advance Serbia\u2019s future in the European Union,\u201d von der Leyen wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar assured the students of his country\u2019s support.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Record turnout spurs students to victory<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lines snaked from polling stations in cities and towns across the country earlier in the day, and even Vucic waited for nearly two hours to vote in Belgrade.<\/p>\n

Pollsters and the election commission \u200bput turnout close to 70%, the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The turnout) did not surprise me because there was a large and strong mass that has formed throughout the past two years,\u201d \u200bsaid voter Katarina Petrovic.<\/p>\n

Vucic, who resigned from his second term as president to run again for prime minister, was a strong incumbent and few in the student protest movement dared believe he would concede so fast.<\/p>\n

Supporters credit him with modernising \u200cSerbia\u2019s economy \u2060and building new highways, railways, schools and hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome businessmen, some people will leave us, but our structure is firm, we are very united, very strong, we are used to being in the opposition,\u201d Vucic said.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Uncertainty over the students\u2019 candidates<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Much remains unclear about how the student-backed candidates will fare.<\/p>\n

Their list of 250 largely unknown candidates includes university professors, actors and farmers, and is led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, who was in tears after Vucic\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n

However, it is unclear who will be prime minister and enact the students\u2019 domestic agenda, which aims to root out graft and improve schooling.<\/p>\n

Political analysts predict some purge of Vucic allies in the police, security \u200bservices and ministries. But the students have been quieter \u200bon their international ambitions.<\/p>\n

As Vucic did for years, they will have to juggle relations with China, a major investor; Russia, Serbia\u2019s traditional ally and main supplier of natural gas; and the European Union, Serbia\u2019s largest trading partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest uncertainty is\u2026who is going to lead the government, who will be the key ministers, and how they will operate based on the promises they \u200bmade to fight corruption, to reintroduce the rule of law, but also to re-establish Serbia\u2019s position in foreign policy,\u201d said Radivoje Grujic, a Warsaw-based election \u200bconsultant.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Protest movement increased pressure<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The student-led street \u2060protests sparked by the station disaster started small but quickly became the biggest in a generation, calling for Vucic to step down. Rights groups and activists say repression worsened<\/a> in the period since.<\/p>\n

Vucic and the SNS repeatedly denied accusations of repression, corruption and spying on their opponents. He has said the students are funded by foreign agents in Croatia and Montenegro, a charge the students dismiss.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, on the streets of Belgrade, a traditional brass band struck up, and \u2060a group \u200bincluding a man in a \u201cstudents are champions\u201d jumper floated balloons in the shape of the number 3, representing the number of the \u200bstudents\u2019 list of candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will drink a beer to celebrate, we will get drunk, we are so happy; I have no words to describe how much,\u201d said Andjela, a student who was with a group of friends.<\/p>\n

Dejan Soskic, a former central bank governor and \u200ba candidate of the Student List, called on people to maintain order and peace, and thanked voters for their civilised conduct during the electoral process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Serbia\u2019s Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in a historic election on Sunday that ends his long grip on power and \u200bheralds a new political era in the Balkan country. Vucic, a populist and nationalist, has dominated Serbian politics as prime minister or president since 2014. But he called snap elections in September \u200cafter almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism, triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}