Serbia’s student movement ousts longtime leader in parliamentary poll

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat less than two hours after polls closed in parliamentary elections but blamed foreign powers for the outcome. The student-led movement declared victory, marking an end to 14 years of rule by Vucic's right-wing populist party. The elections followed nearly two years of anti-government protests sparked by a 2024 railway station collapse that killed 16 people, widely blamed on corruption.

Preliminary results indicated students leading in almost all polling stations, with Radomir Saicic, a Students' List candidate, declaring victory at the movement's election headquarters. Voters turned out in record numbers, with the country recording its highest turnout in over three decades. Supporters celebrating the win filled Belgrade's streets, honking car horns, chanting, and lighting up the skyline with fireworks.

Domestic and international observers monitored the vote, with students organizing large volunteer teams to oversee the process. Vucic, who has close ties with Russia, claimed foreign countries and the US "deep state" had validated a revolution supported by them. The movement's candidates, mostly political novices from academia and the arts, campaigned on a platform of fighting corruption.