Serbia: Serbia's student-backed Student List movement has secured a parliamentary majority, according to projected results, after long-serving leader Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat in the country's national elections on Sunday, marking a major political shift in the Balkan nation.
Addressing the nation after early vote tabulations, Vučić acknowledged that his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) had lost the election.
"Based on the stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost the election," he said, according to Euronews.
Vučić projected that the Student List would win between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, while his party would secure around 105.
"The Student List has won and will have between 135 and 140 seats, while we will have around 105," he said.
He added that parliamentary representation would largely be limited to the two main blocs alongside minority parties. The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) was projected to win three seats, Albanian representatives one seat, and the SDA was also expected to secure a seat, according to the report.
Euronews reported that vote tabulations showed the Student List securing approximately 2.2 million votes, or 52 per cent of the vote, while the SNS received around 1.72 million votes, representing 32.3 per cent.
Turnout was nearly 70 per cent, the highest since the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1992. Long queues formed outside polling stations in cities and towns across Serbia, reflecting widespread interest in the election.
The closely contested vote pitted Vučić and his right-wing SNS against the student-led movement, which has accused the government of corruption and undermining democratic institutions.
Vučić called snap elections in September after nearly two years of student-led protests over allegations of corruption and creeping authoritarianism. The demonstrations were triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a canopy collapsed at a railway station in Novi Sad in 2024. Vučić and the SNS have denied accusations of repression and corruption.
The Student List movement celebrated its victory, with candidate Radomir Saicic addressing supporters.
"After two years of suffering, of battling for rights, for freedom, for justice… we are going to turn all this and to start building a free and prosperous country where our children will live with us, not live abroad and continue their lives elsewhere because now they have opportunity to live here with us. So we are very happy of course and proud of their achievement," Saicic said.
He said the victory had not been easy, but that the movement's determination had made it appear so.
In another address, Saicic said Serbian citizens had shown that "no obstacle was greater than their will" and that "no force can forever overpower a people who have decided to take their destiny into their own hands".
Soon after Vučić conceded defeat, celebrations broke out in Belgrade. Tens of thousands of people gathered along the city's main boulevards as cars honked, people danced and students shouted "victory" and "he's done".
The election outcome marks a major political shift in a country of around six million people and could draw attention from student movements elsewhere in Europe, where young people have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest against poor education standards and a lack of opportunities.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the Student List on its victory and said the European Union was ready to work with the movement on Serbia's future in the bloc.
"Today, the people of Serbia turned out in record numbers to shape their country’s future. Congratulations to the Student List on its victory in the parliamentary elections. We stand ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom, the fight against corruption and strong democratic institutions, and to work together to advance Serbia’s future in the European Union," von der Leyen posted on X.
(With inputs from ANI & Reuters)