Voters in Serbia are casting ballots in a parliamentary election that pits longtime populist leader Aleksandar Vucic against a mass protest movement led by students, which wants him removed. Vucic has held power for more than a decade, first as prime minister and later as president.
The snap vote was called by Vucic in September, after nearly two years of student-led demonstrations over alleged graft and a drift toward authoritarian rule. The protests began after 16 people died in 2024 when a canopy at a train station in Novi Sad collapsed.
Student movement gains support as Vucic seeks another term
The students have since built wide public backing. A defeat for Vucic would mark a major political turn in the Balkan country of some 6 million people, recalling the loss of Viktor Orban in Hungary in April.
Also read: Serbia opposition holds final rally before Sunday election
Vucic resigned as president in September so he could run for prime minister again, and he remains a formidable incumbent. Many voters credit him with lifting Serbia out of economic obscurity and driving a long period of modernisation.
Mario Bikarski, senior Europe analyst at the risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, described the vote in stark terms. “The Serbian election is shaping up to be a watershed moment for the country as the Student List mounts the biggest challenge against Vucic yet,” he said.
Vucic campaigns on pensions, wages and foreign ties
During the campaign, Vucic has promised higher pensions and public sector pay, more state spending on healthcare, and subsidies for young couples. He has cultivated closer relations with China, a major investor, and with Russia, a traditional ally and the main supplier of natural gas to Serbia, while keeping the door open to joining the European Union.
Relations with Brussels have nonetheless deteriorated under his leadership. The bloc has grown increasingly frustrated by what it sees as a lack of reform in the judiciary, the rule of law and efforts against corruption.
Student List fields largely new candidates in close race
The Student List campaigns mainly on rooting out corruption and improving schools, and says comparatively little about its international aims. Its 250 candidates are largely unknown to voters and include university professors, actors and farmers. The list is headed by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic.
Opinion polls point to a tight contest. An Ipsos poll published on Thursday gives Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party 47 percent of the vote, against 40 percent for the students, although other polls have shown the students ahead.
Rights groups and activists say repression has intensified since the canopy collapse, which was widely blamed on government corruption and set off the protests. About 150,000 supporters of the movement rallied in central Belgrade on Thursday.
Vucic rejects claims of repression and foreign funding
Vucic and his party have repeatedly denied accusations of repression, corruption and spying on opponents. The former president has claimed that the students are financed by foreign agents in Croatia and Montenegro, a charge the students reject.
