Vucic says the opposition Student List is projected to win a parliamentary majority after nearly two years of protests.
Serbia’s longtime leader Aleksandar Vucic has conceded defeat to a student-led movement in the country’s snap parliamentary election, saying the opposition group is set to secure a majority of seats.
Vucic said on Sunday that, based on a sample of votes, the Student List was expected to win between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, compared with 105 for his electoral list.
While stating that final results were not yet available, he said, “It is clear that we have lost these elections.”
His announcement was greeted with cheers, euphoria and tears at the Student List headquarters, according to the Belgrade-based FoNet news agency.
Voting to determine whether Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has governed since 2012, could retain power against a movement born from nationwide anticorruption protests, ended at 8pm local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday.
Preliminary results are expected by midnight on Monday, local time (23:00 GMT Sunday).
The State Election Commission said that by 6pm (17:00 GMT), voter turnout had reached 64.9 percent, the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992.
University of Belgrade researcher Jelena Vasiljevic told Al Jazeera in an interview published on Friday that the SNS had a reliable voter base, while the students needed to attract people who normally did not vote.
Sunday’s voting was also marked by reports of intimidation and procedural problems.
The Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), an independent election watchdog, said its observers recorded pressure on voters or election workers at almost a third of the 500 polling stations it monitored.
It also reported failures to protect ballot secrecy.
By 5pm (16:00 GMT), the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), an election-monitoring group, had received about 260 reports of potential irregularities, including ballot photography, group voting and difficulties with identification checks.
In Belgrade, police wearing riot helmets and carrying shields were deployed near the election commission’s headquarters, where roads were closed and barricades erected.
City prosecutors appealed on Sunday for everyone involved in the election to avoid violence.
The election follows nearly two years of student-led protests that began after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people.
Demands for accountability widened into a movement against alleged government corruption and repression. Vucic and the SNS deny the accusations.
The Student List – Students Win, which emerged from demonstrations, fielded candidates drawn from professions including medicine and education, many of whom have no political experience.
The movement campaigns for stronger institutions and an end to corruption.
Some established opposition parties have backed the students rather than fielding their own candidates.
Vucic resigned as president in September to run for prime minister, promising higher pensions, public-sector wages and investment.
Supporters credit his leadership with modernising Serbia’s economy.
About 6.5 million people were eligible to vote for 250 parliamentary seats, with 18 electoral lists competing. A majority of 126 seats is needed to form government.
A snap parliamentary vote on October 25 will determine whether a student-led group can loosen Vucic’s grip on power.
Serbia elections test student movement demanding justice for 16 victims
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