Aleksandar Vucic Concedes Parliamentary Election to Student Opposition Movement

Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat on Sunday to a student-led movement in a snap parliamentary election, ending 14 years of rule by his party.

Vucic said preliminary projections showed the Student List winning between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, while his Serbian Progressive Party won 105 seats.

The election followed nearly two years of anti-corruption protests triggered by the November 2024 collapse of a concrete station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people.

"It is clear that we have lost these elections, the Student List has won," said Aleksandar Vucic, the outgoing leader of the ruling party.

Tens of thousands of supporters filled the streets of Belgrade after the announcement, chanting slogans, sounding car horns and celebrating in front of the movement's headquarters.

"Dear Serbia, tonight the voice of the people is being heard," said Radomir Sajcic, a professor at Belgrade University who spoke for the student movement.

Vucic said his party received about 1.72 million votes compared with 2.2 million for the Student List, Euronews reported. Turnout approached 70 percent, the highest level recorded in Serbia since 1992.

Independent election monitors reported irregularities during voting, including pressure on election workers at nearly a third of monitored polling stations, according to Al Jazeera.

Speaking at his party headquarters, Vucic accused independent media and unnamed foreign powers of interfering in the vote to unseat his administration, according to The Irish Times.

The Student List fielded candidates for all 250 parliamentary seats, including academics, farmers, artists and medical experts, though no university students were on the ballot.

"The energy is unstoppable," said Ilija Srdanovic, a cardiologist who topped the opposition candidates list, during a pre-election rally in Belgrade.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the student movement on social media, writing that European officials were ready to support Serbia's future in the European Union.

The movement must now choose a prime minister and form a government capable of managing national economic policy, judicial reforms and complex diplomatic ties with Russia, China and Western nations.