On Sunday (October 25), Serbia’s long-ruling strongman leader Vucic, who has close ties with both China and Russia, admitted defeat in the parliamentary election. According to the Associated Press report, Vucic said that according to the forecast of the party he leads, the Kadima Party, of the 250 seats, the student-driven "Student List" party will win 135 to 140 seats, and the right-wing party he leads, the Serbian Kadima Party, will win about 105 seats.
Huge changes in politics: People took to the streets to celebrate
Vucic announced the results about an hour and a half after the voting ended, saying that the Kadima Party received about 1.7 million votes and the "student list" received about 2.2 million votes. He admitted that "we lost" but blamed the defeat on the interference of Serbian independent media, as well as unnamed European countries and the "American deep state".
Vucic has been in power for 14 years, has almost absolute power, and has the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has dismissed the student movement as a foreign-led attempt to overthrow the government. He resigned as president last month to run for prime minister.
After the results were announced, people in Belgrade and other cities immediately took to the streets to celebrate the victory. Fences were removed from an encampment where Vucic supporters had been stationed in a city center park for more than a year, and a tent was later set on fire. Some young people also threw stones at the evacuating police cars. "Student List" candidate Radomir Saicic said that this is a "victory over fear" and a "victory for citizens", but victory also means responsibility.
From station collapse to election victory
Vucic's approval rating has declined since 2024. That year, a concrete canopy collapsed at Novi Sad train station, killing 16 people. A wave of protests began as young people blamed high-level corruption and cronyism in the renovation project. The mother of one of the victims told the celebrating crowd that she had been waiting for this moment for two years and hoped that all those responsible would be held accountable.
The "student list" was established by university students, but there are no students among the candidates, but less well-known experts, athletes, farmers and artists, as a way to counter Vucic's personal rule. The students traveled across the country on bicycles and on foot, canvassing for votes in rural areas where Vucic is a traditional vote bank. The Associated Press pointed out that this echoes the situation of Hungarian youth participating in the election to help end Orban's 16-year rule.
Observers expect the turnout to be about 70%, the highest since 2000. Independent election observers reported dozens of irregularities, such as the filming of ballots and attempted vote-buying.
EU: “The door is open for EU accession”
According to the German Press Agency, European Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa congratulated the "student list" late on Sunday night and expressed their willingness to support Serbia's reforms in the rule of law, media freedom, anti-corruption and democratic systems and advance its EU accession process. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said Serbia can open a new chapter and "the door to the EU is open."
Serbia became an EU candidate country in 2012 and officially launched accession negotiations in 2014. But negotiations have largely stalled due to outside concerns about democratic standards and the rule of law, as well as Vucic's close relationship with Moscow. On August 27 this year, the 84-year-old former Bosnian Serb military commander Mladic, who was convicted of genocide, died in prison in The Hague. Serbia held a funeral for him that critics described as a "state funeral," triggering outrage from the outside world. Von der Leyen and Costa had accused Serbian government representatives of avoiding this dark chapter in Europe's modern history. Mladic's crimes include masterminding the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which more than 8,000 people were killed.
