Serbians vote in tight election as students challenge Vucic

Serbians voted Sunday in a snap parliamentary election that pits the long-governing party of Aleksandar Vucic, who resigned as president in September to run for prime minister, against a student-led list born of nearly two years of anti-corruption protests.

The result could end more than a decade of Vucic’s dominance in a country of about six million people. An Ipsos poll published Oct. 22 gave his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) 47 per cent and the Student List 40 per cent, though Al Jazeera reported that other polls have put the students ahead.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and closed at 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET). First results were expected about two hours after the polls closed, Reuters and Al Jazeera reported. No results had been published when this story was written, and the outcome will be reported here when it is confirmed.

Reuters reported unusually long lines at polling stations in Belgrade and Novi Sad before voting began. “I came out early today because the students called us,” said Ana, a 30-year-old voter in Belgrade who gave only her first name.

The student movement began after a canopy collapsed at a railway station in Novi Sad in 2024, killing 16 people. The collapse was widely blamed on government corruption. Rights groups and activists say repression has worsened since then, Al Jazeera reported. Vucic and his party deny accusations of repression, corruption and spying on opponents.

The Student List has about 250 candidates, many of them little known, including university professors, actors and farmers. It is led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic. Its platform centres on rooting out corruption and improving education, Al Jazeera reported, with little emphasis on foreign policy.

Vucic has promised higher pensions and public-sector salaries, more spending on health care and subsidies for young couples. About 150,000 supporters rallied in central Belgrade on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera. “This has been one of the most difficult but the most emotional campaigns,” Vucic said at an Oct. 22 rally, adding: “We stood against those who wanted to destroy Serbia.” He has accused the students of being funded by foreign agents in Croatia and Montenegro. The students deny it.

Jelena Vasiljevic, a senior research associate at the University of Belgrade’s Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, told Al Jazeera that turnout would be decisive. She said the SNS relies on a disciplined core electorate, while the students must unite opposition-minded voters and draw in people who rarely vote.

A Council of Europe delegation noted “hostile and aggressive rhetoric” against opponents in a report this month, Reuters said.

Serbia is a candidate to join the European Union, but relations with Brussels have frayed over judicial reform, the rule of law and corruption, Reuters reported. Vucic has balanced close ties with China, a major investor, and Russia, the traditional ally and main gas supplier, while saying the door to EU membership remains open. Al Jazeera compared a Vucic loss to the defeat of Hungary’s Viktor Orban in April.

The vote comes as protests shake another Western Balkan country. Our earlier report covered how Albania’s protests drew hundreds of injuries as the prime minister refused to quit. Brussels is also still working through the enlargement file, having opened two more accession clusters for Ukraine and Moldova this month.

For Canadians, the vote matters most to the Serbian community in this country and to anyone with family or travel plans in the Balkans. Travellers can check Global Affairs Canada’s advisory for Serbia at travel.gc.ca before departing.

Via Reuters and Al Jazeera. Read the original Al Jazeera report.

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