Vučić admits defeat as student movement wins snap election

Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia's long‑standing right‑wing populist leader, said on Sunday that early results make it clear his Serbian Progressive Party has lost the snap parliamentary election to the student‑led protest movement. “We still do not have final results… it is clear that we have lost these elections,” he told reporters from the party headquarters in Belgrade. Preliminary data from the election commission show a record‑high voter turnout, a factor commentators said would benefit the Student List. The snap vote was called after two years of protests sparked by the 2024 collapse of a Novi Sad train‑station canopy that killed 16 people and was seen as a symbol of corruption and negligence. Vučić made the announcement at the Serbian Progressive Party headquarters in the capital. Streets of Belgrade filled with dancing crowds, chants of “victory”, honking cars and fireworks, while wild celebrations erupted at the Student List headquarters. The story remains developing as final results are awaited.

Context

Student‑led movements have become a powerful force in Serbian politics, especially after the 2024 canopy tragedy heightened public anger over government neglect.