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Serbian student movement wins an absolute majority

◆1 source

The student movement in Serbia was reported to have ended the authoritarian rule of former president Aleksandar Vučić after its party won an absolute majority. The movement now intends to restore democracy and the rule of law, although it faces the challenge of addressing corruption and fulfilling its broad ambitions.

The development was compared with Hungary, where Viktor Orbán was reportedly removed from office in April and his successor also promised to rebuild the country. After six months, the extent of those efforts was discussed alongside the student movement’s plans for Serbia.

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Politics

Serbian Student List wins parliamentary election

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The student-led Student List won Serbia's early parliamentary election, defeating Aleksandr Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Vučić, who had resigned as president in September and sought to return as prime minister, acknowledged defeat. Reports said the Student List won 51 percent of the vote to the SNS's 40 percent, and another report put its parliamentary majority at 138 of 250 seats. Turnout was reported as higher than in the 2023 election, with about 35 percent having voted by 1 p.m.; another report gave turnout at 46.4 percent by 2 p.m. Thousands celebrated in Belgrade. The movement emerged from protests after the collapse of a station structure in Novi Sad killed 16 people, with protesters linking the disaster to corruption. The Student List has pledged to review public institutions and contracts and tackle corruption, but it has no established leader and its prospective lawmakers are largely academics and experts without political experience. Its plans for governing, including the composition of a government, remain unclear.