Student-backed candidates win Serbian parliamentary election as Vucic concedes
Crowds celebrated in Belgrade after Aleksandar Vucic accepted defeat to a student-backed parliamentary slate following two years of peaceful protests.
Belgrade, Serbia. A student-backed slate won Serbia’s parliamentary election, with long-time leader Aleksandar Vucic acknowledging defeat on Sunday night. The result followed a peaceful protest campaign lasting two years that demanded his departure and an end to alleged widespread corruption, which he denies.
Celebrations fill Belgrade’s streets
Crowds numbering tens of thousands filled the capital’s main boulevards, stopping traffic and tram services. Smoke hung over the streets, and one man stood atop a car waving a flare.
The scenes resembled those witnessed during the past month in European cities, where students have held sometimes violent demonstrations seeking improved education and better future prospects. In Belgrade, however, the students had gathered to celebrate rather than protest.
Milica, a law student, welcomed the outcome: “That is the best thing that happened in my life. We will now breathe freely,” she said.
Nebojsa Cosic, waving a flag in the street, declared: “The people have won! The people defeated a dictator! The people will lead Serbia!”
A political turning point
The victory represents a major change in Serbia, which has about 6 million inhabitants, and demonstrates the influence younger people can exert by mobilising broad public dissatisfaction.
Vucic had held office as either president or prime minister since 2014. His leadership coincided with strong economic growth, but opposition intensified through student-led demonstrations after a railway station awning collapsed in November 2024, killing 16 people.
The protesters accused the authorities of pervasive corruption and sought Vucic’s resignation. He rejects the corruption allegations.
From campaigning to governing
The varied slate comprises 250 student-backed candidates, many of them lawyers, professors, actors or farmers. At their headquarters, the previously unknown candidates embraced and cheered, appearing almost unable to believe their success.
Although the group would need to begin focusing on governing the following day, Sunday evening remained an occasion for celebration.
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