According to projections still being updated, the Studentsksa Lista obtained 52.5% of the votes, a percentage which should give it around 140 seats out of the 250 that make up the Parliament, above the majority threshold of 126 seats, compared to 39.1% for United Serbia, which would thus have 103 seats
Students won the early political elections in Serbia: former president Aleksandar Vučić - in office from 2017 until September this year - admitted defeat. There were 6.4 million citizens called to vote for the 250 members of the new single-chamber parliament. The challenge was between the Vučić - United Serbia coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Student List, born from the protest movement after the tragedy at the Novi Sad station, which since November 2024 has confirmed itself as the leader of the opposition and dissent, displacing the traditional parties. According to projections, still being updated, the Student List - Students win! with 52.5% of the votes he obtained 140 of the 250 seats in the National Assembly, while Aleksandar Vučić-United Serbia, with 39.1% took 103 seats. The three smaller coalitions are out, below the 3% threshold: the Socialist-led list of Interior Minister Ivica Dacic (2.3%), the Authentic Right coalition (0.9%) and European Serbia (0.3%). 4 of the seven minority members enter Parliament, because they are exempt from the quorum: 3 seats for the Hungarians of Vojvodina (VMSZ), 2 for the Albanian Coalition, 1 for the Sandjak Democratic Party (SDP) and 1 for the Sandjak Action Party (SDA), both expressions of the Muslim Bosniak minority.
The celebrations on the street
As soon as Vucic admitted defeat, celebrations erupted in the streets of the capital: motorists started honking their horns, while the crowd gathered to celebrate near the headquarters of the electoral commission. Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the "Student List", supporters applauded, cried and hugged each other, shouting: "Victory, victory!". Record turnout in the country, never this high for 30 years. In the center of Belgrade and in many other Serbian cities, tens of thousands of cheering people, mostly young people but not only, filled the streets and squares with carousels of cars and horns, chants, smoke bombs, trumpets, vuvuzeles, whistles. The central squares, Terasije Avenue and also Parliament Square were invaded by crowds. Here, the independent broadcaster N1 reported, the police retreated together with the alleged supporters of Vučić and his SNS party who were gathering around the time the polls closed. On TV, students were seen invading Pionirski Park, closed since March 2025 with barriers and the presence of tents that had hosted anti-student counter-protesters for years, demolishing tents and gazebos to "take back the public space" of the park. N1 also aired the tears live, amidst the cheering crowd, of Dijana Hrka, mother of one of the victims of the collapse of the roof of the Novi Sad station in November 2024, which started the protest movement: "I have fought for this for two years. I am sad, but also happy, because my son Stefani will finally have the justice he deserves", said the woman. "It's a dream!" an exultant student in Pionirski Park shouted into N1's microphones. A middle-aged man vented by saying that "I will finally be able to return to this park with my family." Images of celebrations, shown on TV, also in Kraljevo, Nis and Novi Sad.
Vucic: “The fight will continue from the opposition”
With a somewhat sad and emotional face, Vucic said that now he will "continue the fight from the opposition" and that he will demonstrate that the students have carried out an "incorrect and full of lies" campaign and that he will not make any discounts from the opposition. “I recognize the victory of the students,” he said, “no one will flee Serbia because of this.”
The protest movements and the student list
The Student List was born from the collapse of a shelter at the Novi Sad train station, which - in November 2024 - caused the death of 16 people. The tragedy later became a symbol of the corruption of Serbian politics, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets and channeling citizens' frustration. The Student List became the most complete expression of this, opposing Vučić with a group of civil society candidates chosen through direct democracy (but without a leader). They insist on transparency, media freedom, independent justice. However, they postponed decisive issues, such as Serbia's EU membership, to a later time, in order to arrive at the vote as a united party. Representing the students, candidate Radomir Sajčić said on RTS that "Serbia has finally taken its destiny into its own hands, with a result that rewards almost two years of struggle". The first on the student list, the cardiologist Ilija Srdjanović, specified that his country has "turned the face of a tyrant: Let's move towards a better Serbia".
See also
List of Serbian students, Bakic: "Neither against the EU nor against Moscow"
EU, Commissioner for Enlargement Kos: "New chapter for Serbia"
They are also celebrating from the European Union: "After almost two years of protests in favor of democracy, the rule of law and the fight against corruption, Serbs went to the polls in record numbers. Congratulations to the student list for the victory. These are precisely the values that underpin our European Union", said the European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, commenting on the outcome of the elections in Serbia. "A new chapter can begin for Serbia. The EU door is open and we are ready to move forward together", he adds.
