Voter turnout surges in Serbia as students challenge Vucic
DPABelgrade Voter turnout was running sharply higher in Serbia’s snap parliamentary election on Sunday, as a student-led opposition movement mounted a major challenge to the long r...
Voter turnout surged in Serbia's recent parliamentary election, with students leading an opposition movement challenging the long tenure of former president Aleksandar Vucic. As of 1 pm (1200 GMT), 41.1% of eligible voters had already cast their ballots, compared to 26.6% during the previous election in December 2023, according to independent election monitors CRTA.
Serbia has 6.4 million eligible voters who will choose the 250 members of parliament, and opinion polls suggest a tight contest between Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the student-led opposition. The election is seen as a crucial test for Vucic, who has ruled Serbia since 2012, to retain his political influence or facilitate a more democratic transition in the Balkan nation.
Vucic stepped down as president in late September to lead the SNS into the snap election, hoping to become prime minister if his party prevails. Critics allege corruption, democratic erosion, and ties to organized crime against Vucic, all of which he denies. The student movement was born out of outrage over the November 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people.
Alleging corruption and negligence, protesters organized demonstrations, university occupations, and road blockades across the country, reaching even remote villages and mobilizing voters who had previously shown limited political engagement. Florian Bieber, head of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, noted the movement's unprecedented appeal to citizens from all walks of life.
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