BELGRADE: A student-led protest movement born from a deadly railway station collapse has defeated Serbia’s ruling party in parliamentary elections, ending 14 years of rule by President Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Speaking after polls closed on Sunday, Vučić conceded defeat. Citing preliminary results, he said the Student List would take between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-seat National Assembly, against about 105 for his party. A majority requires 126 seats. The figures are preliminary, and final results have yet to be certified.
Origins in the Novi Sad tragedy
The movement traces back to November 2024, when a concrete canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad railway station, killing 16 people. Protesters blamed corruption and substandard construction work, and demonstrations spread nationwide. Supporters describe it as the largest protest movement in Serbia since the fall of Slobodan Milošević in 2000.
For almost two years, students organized rallies and sit-ins across the country, bypassing media outlets they say are dominated by the ruling party. Organizers said more than 150,000 people attended the movement’s final campaign rally in Belgrade.
From protest to ballot box
The students later formed the Student List and put forward candidates drawn largely from outside conventional politics, including professionals in education, healthcare, the arts and technology. Its platform centred on fighting corruption, a transparent investigation into the Novi Sad collapse, and restoring democratic institutions.
Facing sustained pressure, Vučić called early elections in September and resigned the presidency to lead his party’s campaign.
Concession and allegations
“It is clear that we have lost these elections,” Vučić said in a televised address. He has maintained close ties with both Russia and China, and Serbia’s bid to join the European Union has stalled during his tenure.
Vučić has previously accused opponents of waging a campaign of lies against his government. The assertion in the original draft that he blamed a “deep state” in the United States and Europe for his defeat does not appear in the reports I found, so I have left it out of this version.
International reaction
European Council President António Costa congratulated the Student List on its victory, saying it could help move Serbia toward EU membership.
The result marks a rare case of a protest movement converting street mobilization into electoral power. The incoming government’s first tasks, including forming a cabinet and addressing the Novi Sad inquiry, will be closely watched.