Serbian voters elect student-led group, ending decade of Vucic rule

Serbian voters replaced Aleksandar Vucic as the dominant political force on Sunday, electing a student-led coalition to a majority in parliament. The shift ends more than a decade of leadership by the former ultranationalist, who resigned from the presidency in September under pressure from sustained public protests.

The political change began after a train station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people. That incident sparked youth-led demonstrations that lasted nearly two years. The movement evolved into the Student List, a political platform that promised to address corruption and restore citizen rights. Ilija Srdanovic, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad, served as the campaign leader for the group.

Vucic, who has held various top government posts since 2012, admitted defeat after preliminary results indicated his Serbian Progressive Party would win 105 seats. The Student List is projected to take between 135 and 140 of the 250 seats available. This outcome follows a vote with the highest turnout in the country in over 30 years. Vucic described the loss to his supporters, acknowledging that the data showed his list had been outperformed.

The election campaign saw Vucic label the demonstrators as blockaders who sought to destabilize the nation. His party, founded in 2008 after a split from the Serbian Radical Party, had previously positioned itself closer to mainstream European politics. Vucic’s political career began in 1993, when he joined the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party led by Vojislav Seselj. Seselj was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018 for crimes against non-Serbs during the Balkan wars.

Since taking power in 2012, the Serbian government has overseen substantial economic growth. Official data cited by Reuters indicates that unemployment dropped from 26 percent to between 8 and 9 percent. Nominal gross domestic product has nearly tripled to approximately 90 billion euros. Foreign direct investment inflows also increased, rising from about 800 million euros in 2012 to a record 5.2 billion euros in 2024.

Despite these macroeconomic figures, public debate has focused on the cost of living and national debt. Safeta Bisevac, a journalist who has covered Vucic’s career, noted that while the government promised to fight corruption, the results remained modest. Bisevac observed that authorities expanded control over institutions and media during Vucic’s tenure. The president’s term was originally scheduled to continue until 2027, but he stepped down in September to call for early elections.

Political scientist Dusko Radosavljevic stated that the student movement gave voice to citizen anger. Radosavljevic characterized the past decade as a period of systematic pressure on social institutions. He noted that state intelligence services spent more time monitoring political opponents than performing their core duties, while critical thinking was pushed out of public media outlets.

The next step in the process involves the formal counting of all votes to finalize the seat distribution. The Student List will begin the task of forming a government and implementing its policy agenda in the 250-member parliament.