Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic delivers his resignation speech at a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Belgrade on September 27, 2026. Serbia’s long-time populist President Aleksandar Vucic resigned on September 27, 2026, to run for prime minister in a snap election in October, after nearly two years of student-led protests calling for just such a poll.
Oliver Bunnick | AFP | Getty Images
Serbia’s long-time powerful leader Aleksandar Vučić admitted defeat on Sunday in an election in which he and his right-wing party contested a diverse student-led opposition movement that has been protesting against the government for two years.
It was a seismic shift in the Balkan nation, where Mr. Vucic, who was backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and who had denounced the student movement as a foreign-led attempt to usurp him, had led with virtually absolute power for 14 years.
High turnout and high tensions led to a hotly contested parliamentary election pitting Vučić and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party against a group of university students who were popular nationwide and accused the government of corruption and dismantling democracy.
Serbia’s 6.4 million voters elected members of the 250-member parliament. In conceding the election, Vučić said his party expected its rival, the pro-youth Student List, to win between 135 and 140 seats, while the SNS party would win around 105 seats.
“The student list won,” Vučić told supporters at his party’s election night event, but blamed Serbia’s independent media, alleged interference by unnamed European countries and the “American deep state” for the loss.
Belgrade is in a celebratory mood
Vučić said his SNS party received around 1.7 million votes, while the student list received around 2.2 million votes.
Supporters of the student list soon flooded the streets of Belgrade and other cities, honking their horns, shouting and shouting “Alexander is gone,” referring to Vučić.
The results, announced by Vučić about an hour and a half after voting closed, came after tensions rose throughout the day as voting progressed.
Police in riot gear cordoned off the area around the electoral commission headquarters in central Belgrade. Special police vehicles were seen near a park in Belgrade where Vučić supporters have been camping for more than a year, and large groups of men in black rallied around the city.
Protests against corruption led to Vucic’s ouster
Vučić was about to become Prime Minister of Serbia after serving almost two full terms as president. He resigned as president last month to run for prime minister.
Support for the populists had declined since 2024, when a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad, killing 16 people. This sparked a wave of youth protests, blaming corruption, nepotism and rampant misconduct by government officials during the station’s renovations for the collapse.
Despite the protests, Vučić maintained considerable support among many Serbian voters. Admirers saw him as a capable leader capable of guiding the country through global uncertainty, an image carefully crafted by mainstream media.
student movement
The increasingly authoritarian Mr. Vučić has routinely defeated Serbia’s fractured opposition, but the leaderless youth movement has proven to be a more formidable opponent to undermine his grip on power than any other in his party’s 14 years in power.
The newly formed Student List Movement was formed by university students, but not a single one actually appeared on the electoral list. Instead, its candidates are lesser-known professionals, athletes, farmers, and artists.
This approach was aimed at countering Vucic’s one-man rule and restoring a sense of community and togetherness. During the campaign, students’ messages focused on bipartisan efforts to rebuild Serbia’s economy and restore democracy.
The students used their youthful energy to attract voters disillusioned with local politicians. Maligned by pro-government media, they crisscrossed the country on bicycles and on foot to reach voters in rural areas, Vučić’s traditional stronghold.
The students’ victory mirrors the defeat of Vučić’s allies in recent elections in Hungary, where youth participation helped oust 16-year dictator Viktor Orbán and install a new pro-European government. The voice could resonate beyond Serbia, as countries across Europe face angry protests by young people and students.
Voting was in the spotlight in the EU
Monitors predict that total turnout could reach around 70%, a figure not seen in Serbia since 2000. During the day, long lines formed at polling stations in Serbia and cities around the world. Some members of the Serbian diaspora were forced to vote in the middle of the night as authorities tied voting times to Serbian local time.
Recent elections in Serbia were marred by fraud, and the EU was closely monitoring the conduct of Sunday voting in candidate countries for EU membership.
Independent election observers on Sunday reported dozens of cases of fraud, including the filming of ballots suggesting voter pressure and vote buying.
International and local election observers had expressed concerns about the safety and fairness of the election campaign, which was marked by detentions, near-total government control of the media, surveillance of activists and reports of cyber attacks.
Local elections held in 10 Serbian municipalities earlier this year resulted in violent attacks on journalists and activists. After the 2023 parliamentary vote, opposition parties staged protests alleging fraud.
