Voting began on Sunday, Oct. 25, in an early parliamentary election in which a student-led movement is seeking to end the rule of longtime leader Aleksandar Vucic and his party, with polls showing a tight race between his Serbian Progressive Party and the newly formed Student List.1,3,4
The vote follows almost two years of protests that began after a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024, killing 16 people. Vucic called the snap election in September and resigned as president to run for prime minister, having dominated Serbian politics for more than a decade. Al Jazeera described a loss for Vucic as a profound political shift in a country of some 6 million people, one it said was reminiscent of the defeat of Hungary's Viktor Orban in April.1,3
The canopy's collapse came after millions of euros were spent on renovations, and the public widely blamed the collapse on shoddy construction rooted in corruption, although no one has been brought to trial. The protests, which at first asked only for accountability for those killed, grew over 2025. In March that year, students organized the largest protest rally in the history of Serbia, and in May they demanded snap parliamentary elections. Vucic eventually relented, and elections were set for October 2026. The movement is the largest in Serbia since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.1,4
The Student List was formed at a grassroots level, with candidates chosen by students across Serbia in a process that ended in September 2026. Its 250 candidates are largely unfamiliar to voters, and include university professors, actors and farmers. The list is led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, and its agenda focuses on rooting out corruption and improving schooling. Sanja Fric, a Student List candidate and assistant professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade, said, "This is one of our last chances to return the country to the right path, to the rule of law, democracy, media freedom, an independent judiciary," she said. "Otherwise, I fear we will become a dictatorship."3,4
Supporters at the Belgrade rallies say the Serbian Progressive Party, in power since 2012, is a highly corrupt and illiberal government. Transparency International ranks Serbia as one of the most corrupt countries in Europe. Angelina Ivanovic, a political scientist attending a Student List rally in Belgrade, said, "These elections for Serbia are historic." She added, "That means that citizens are choosing freedom and justice, as opposed to the crime that has entered all possible pores of this society."4
Estimates of crowd size differ. Al Jazeera put the number of supporters at a rally in central Belgrade on Thursday at about 150,000, while DW described tens of thousands of supporters rallying in Belgrade ahead of the vote. Polls also vary. An Ipsos poll published on Thursday gave the Serbian Progressive Party 47 percent of the vote to the students' 40 percent, though other polls have put the students ahead.1,3
Vucic remains a strong incumbent, and many voters thank him for pulling Serbia out of economic obscurity and orchestrating a period of sustained modernization. During the campaign he has promised higher pensions and public sector salaries, investment in state healthcare, and subsidies for young couples. He has balanced closer ties with China, a major investor, and Russia, Serbia's traditional ally and principal supplier of natural gas, while leaving the door open to joining the European Union. Relations with the EU have frayed under his leadership, and the bloc has grown increasingly frustrated over a lack of reforms addressing the judiciary, the rule of law and corruption.3
Mario Bikarski, senior Europe analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, told Reuters, "The Serbian election is shaping up to be a watershed moment for the country as the Student List mounts the biggest challenge against Vucic yet." The Student List's agenda says little about its international ambitions.3
Rights groups and activists say repression has worsened since the canopy collapse. Vucic and his party have repeatedly denied accusations of repression, corruption and spying on their opponents. Vucic has claimed that the students are funded by foreign agents in Croatia and Montenegro, a charge the students deny.3
Ana Martinoli, a professor and media theorist at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, said the media favors the government by spreading fear of change and promising stability and security if Vucic remains. The vast majority of media outlets in Serbia are linked to the SNS. During 11 days in August 2026, before he resigned to run for prime minister, Vucic gave 49 televised speeches. "Opponents of the government are presented as the extended arm of foreign interests, and their eventual victory as a risk of destabilizing the country," Martinoli said. "In this way, the debate about the government's accountability is shifted to the question of patriotism and loyalty to the state."4
In articles published last week, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network said it had gathered testimony from about 180 people at several dozen state companies, administrations and institutions, and that these bodies had been turned into "political factories" working for the ruling party. Employees, it said, were pressured to register as guaranteed votes for the SNS and attend party rallies, under threat of dismissal, pay cuts, stalled promotions or transfers to distant workplaces. One employee at the state agency responsible for land registries said, "This has never happened before, everyone is in disbelief. Even older colleagues who have years of service going back to Milosevic." The employee added that everyone in the office nevertheless signed for fear of punishment. The SNS did not comment on the BIRN report, and a prominent SNS member of parliament did not respond to a request for comment.4
Results had not been reported when the reports were filed, and the outcome of a race that polls describe as tight remained unknown.1,3,4
