Serbia holds high-stakes parliamentary election as student movement challenges ruling party

Serbia votes on Sunday in its most fiercely contested parliamentary election in more than 14 years. A student-led movement is seeking to remove the party of veteran leader Aleksandar Vucic from power.

What Happened

The snap vote follows nearly two years of protests sparked by a deadly railway station canopy collapse in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. Many people blamed the disaster on corruption. The Students' List, which is backed by a largely leaderless student movement, now poses the biggest challenge to Mr. Vucic's right-wing populist Serbian Progressive Party. Eighteen electoral lists are competing for seats in the 250-member Parliament, but polls point to a main contest between the ruling party and the student-backed group. Several major opposition parties chose not to run and instead told their supporters to back the students.

Campaign and Turnout

An unusually high voter turnout is expected among Serbia's registered voters. Voter turnout averaged just over 55% during the current ruling party's time in power. Students have spent two years holding rallies and marching across the country to reach voters directly. A final pre-election rally in Belgrade drew a large crowd to the streets. Mr. Vucic also campaigned nationwide while accusing the student movement of plotting a foreign-funded coup. Most of the candidates on the Students' List are experts from areas like academia and the arts with little political experience. Civil society groups warned days before the vote that conditions for fair elections were lacking.

Context

Parliamentary elections in Serbia decide the makeup of the national legislature and influence the direction of the government. This vote comes after a prolonged period of political tension driven by public anger over infrastructure safety and institutional accountability. Observers from domestic and international groups are closely watching the polling process as citizens cast their ballots.