JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
Serbia’s longtime leader, Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat on Sunday in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting against his rule.
It’s a huge political shift in the Balkan country where Vucic, backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and denouncing the student movement as a foreign attempt to overthrow him, ruled with absolute power for 14 years.
High voter turnout and resulting tensions punctuated the hotly contested parliamentary election, which is a battle between Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party and students who, accusing the government of corruption and undermining democracy, have built a large following across the country.
A total of 6.4 million voters in Serbia elect members of parliament from a 250-member Parliament. In its election defeat, Vucic said his party projected that its opponents, the youth-backed Student List, would gain between 135 and 140 seats while his SNS party would gain around 105 seats.
“The Students’ List has won,” Vucic told supporters on the eve of his party’s election, although he blamed independent Serbian media as well as alleged interference by unnamed European countries and the “American deep state” for the defeat.
Belgrade exploded in celebration
Vucic said his SNS party won around 1.7 million votes compared to the Student List which he said needed around 2.2 million votes.
Student List supporters immediately flooded the streets of Belgrade and other cities, honking horns, shouting and chanting: “Aleksandar is gone,” referring to Vucic.
The election results, which Vucic announced just about an hour and a half after polls closed, came as tensions rose as the day’s voting progressed.
Get the latest national news
Get the latest Canadian news delivered to your inbox so you never miss a trending story.
Police in riot gear surrounded an area in central Belgrade around the KPU headquarters. Special police vehicles were seen near a Belgrade park where Vucic loyalists have camped for more than a year, and large groups of men dressed in black gathered at various points across the city.
Protests over corruption led to Vucic’s downfall
Vucic wants to become prime minister of Serbia after serving nearly two full terms as president. He stepped down from the presidency last month to lead the campaign.
Support for populists has eroded since 16 people were killed in 2024 when a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad. This sparked a wave of youth protests that blamed the station’s collapse on high-level corruption, cronyism and rampant corruption during renovation work at the station.
Despite the protests, Vucic still has huge support from many voters in Serbia. His admirers view him as a capable leader capable of steering the nation through global uncertainty – an image carefully crafted by the mainstream media.
Student movement
While an increasingly authoritarian Vucic has routinely outmaneuvered Serbia’s divided opposition in the past, the leaderless youth movement has proven to be a formidable opponent that has shaken his hold on power in Serbia in a way no one has done in the 14 years since his party took office.
The newly formed Student List Movement was formed by students but none of them actually appeared on the election list. Instead, the candidates are little-known experts, athletes, farmers and artists.
This approach is intended to counter Vucic’s one-man rule and restore a sense of togetherness and solidarity. Students’ messages during the campaign focused on non-partisan efforts to rebuild Serbia’s economy and restore its democracy.
The students have used their youthful energy to appeal to voters disillusioned with local politicians. Maligned by pro-government media, they cycled and walked around the country to reach voters in rural areas – Vucic’s traditional base.
The students’ victory mirrors the defeat of Vucic’s Hungarian allies in recent elections, where youth participation helped oust the autocratic Viktor Orbán after 16 years and usher in a new pro-European government. It is likely that this will also happen outside Serbia as countries in Europe face protests from young people and students.
The vote is being closely watched in the EU
Observers estimate that voter turnout could reach around 70%, something that has not happened in Serbia since 2000. During the day, long queues formed at polling stations in Serbia and in cities around the world. Some members of the Serbian diaspora were told to vote at midnight after authorities aligned voting hours with local time in Serbia.
Recent elections in Serbia have been marred by irregularities and the European Union is closely watching Sunday’s vote in the bloc’s prospective member state.
Independent election monitors reported dozens of cases of irregularities on Sunday such as photo-mailing of ballots indicating voter pressure and vote-buying efforts.
Both international and local election observers have expressed concerns about the security and fairness of an election campaign marked by detentions, complete government control of the media, and reports of surveillance and cyberattacks against activists.
In local elections earlier this year in 10 cities in Serbia there were violent attacks on journalists and activists. Previous parliamentary votes in 2023 were followed by opposition protests alleging fraud.
© 2026 Canadian Press
