Serbia opens voting as Vučić faces the student movement
Voting has opened in Serbia’s snap parliamentary election, with queues forming in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Aleksandar Vučić is seeking a return to the premiership after leaving the presidency, while the Student List campaigns on fighting corruption and improving education. Conflicting pre-election polls framed a contest that now takes nearly two years of student-led street protests to the ballot box.
Geopolitics··Midday
Voting opens with queues in Belgrade and Novi Sad
Serbia began voting in its snap parliamentary election on 25 October, with Aleksandar Vucic seeking a return to the premiership against candidates backed by the student movement. Vucic called the election in September and left the presidency to enter the contest. The Students’ List emerged from demonstrations demanding action against corruption and improvements to public institutions.[1], [2]
Hundreds of voters queued outside polling stations in the capital, Belgrade, while lines also formed in Novi Sad in northern Serbia. Election observers said late-morning participation was on track to exceed turnout at the 2023 parliamentary vote. Some voters travelled from Kosovo to cast their ballots in the southern Serbian town of Raska. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Belgrade does not recognise it as a separate country.[2]
A protest movement puts forward 250 candidates
The student movement grew after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in 2024, killing 16 people. Reports linking construction flaws to corruption were followed by nationwide anger and demonstrations. Protesters have challenged what they describe as increasing authoritarianism as well as corruption. Vucic and his party deny accusations of repression and misconduct.[1], [2]
The list has 250 candidates, including university professors, actors and farmers, and is led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic. Its priorities include fighting corruption and improving education. It has provided fewer details about international policy. Vucic, meanwhile, has promised higher pensions, better public-sector pay, investment in healthcare and support for young couples.[1]
Conflicting polls precede a contested vote
An Ipsos poll published on 22 October placed Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party at 47 per cent and the student-led reformers at 40 per cent. Other surveys put the students ahead. Those estimates concern voting intentions. The election opened without a result, and the surveys do not establish the composition of the next parliament.[1], [2]
Vucic has maintained ties with Russia, Serbia’s main natural-gas supplier, while China has become a major investor. European Union membership has remained an option, but relations with the bloc have been strained over judicial reform, the rule of law and corruption. The student movement rejects his allegation that foreign agents finance it.[1]
