Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic concedes defeat to the student-led movement in
a seismic political shift
[October 26, 2026]
By JOVANA GEC and JUSTIN SPIKE
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The long-serving strongman leader of Serbia,
Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat on Sunday in an election that pitted
him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition
movement that spent two years protesting his government.
It was a seismic political shift in the Balkan country where Vucic, who
had been endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and who denounced
the student movement as a foreign-led attempt to unseat him, led with
virtually absolute power for 14 years.
Almost immediately, crowds flooded the streets of the capital Belgrade
and other Serbian cities in an outburst of euphoric celebration.
Belgrade resident Dragana Kovacevic was thrilled that “everyone greets
with smiles.” She said "we are all too happy, finally we are becoming
one normal and free country.”
Maja Stetic said she feels “fantastic.” Vucic's ouster, she said, "means
liberation for me, means a new future for us and our children.”
High turnout and gathering tensions marked the highly contested
parliamentary election that was a showdown between Vucic and his
right-wing Serbian Progressive Party and university students who,
accusing the government of corruption and dismantling democracy, had
built a popular following across the country.
Serbia's 6.4 million voters were electing lawmakers to the 250-member
Parliament. In conceding the election, Vucic said his party projects
that his opponents, the youth-backed Students’ List, will take between
135 and 140 seats while his SNS party will have around 105.
“It is now clear that we have lost and the Students’ List has won,”
Vucic told supporters at his party's election night event, though he
blamed Serbia's independent media as well as alleged interference by
unnamed European countries and an ”American deep state" for the loss.
Belgrade erupts in celebration
Vucic said that his SNS party won around 1.7 million votes compared to
the Students’ List, which he said took around 2.2 million.
Radomir Saicic, a Students’ List candidate, said “tonight is not just
about results.”
“It is about people who believed and continued to fight,” he said. “This
is a victory over fear …it is nobody’s trophy, it is a citizens victory.
But victory carries responsibility.”
Supporters of the Students' List drove around Belgrade in cars, honking
horns, singing, shouting and chanting: “Aleksandar is gone,” referring
to Vucic. Crowds swiftly dismantled the fences and tents at a park in
central Belgrade where Vucic’s loyalists had been camping for over a
year and gathered earlier on Sunday. One tent was later set on fire in
the now-abandoned camp.
A group of young people could be seen throwing rocks at a withdrawing
column of police cars and anti-riot vehicles.
The outcome, which Vucic announced only around an hour and a half after
polls closed, came after tensions had built as voting progressed during
the day.
Police in anti-riot gear had cordoned off an area in central Belgrade
around the election commission headquarters. Special police vehicles
could be seen near the pro-Vucic camp, and large groups of black-clad
men had congregated at various points throughout the city.
Protests over corruption lead to Vucic's fall
Vucic was seeking become Serbia's prime minister after serving two
near-full terms as president. He resigned the presidency last month to
lead the campaign.
Support for the populist had eroded since 16 people were killed in 2024
when a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad. That
set off a wave of youth protests that blamed the collapse on high-level
corruption, cronyism and rampant graft during renovation work at the
station.
Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the victims, was in the crowd
celebrating in Belgrade. Sobbing, Hrka told N1 television: “I have been
waiting for this moment for two years.”
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People celebrate after Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the right-wing
Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) conceded defeat in the parliamentary
election in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Marko
Drobnjakovic)
“Now I expect that they will all be held accountable,” she said.
Despite the protests, Vucic retained considerable support among many
of Serbia’s voters. Admirers viewed him as a capable leader who can
steer the nation through global uncertainties — the image that was
carefully crafted by the mainstream media.
Student movement campaigned on rebuilding democracy
While the increasingly authoritarian Vucic has routinely outplayed
Serbia’s fractured opposition in the past, the leaderless youth
movement proved to be a tough opponent that rattled his firm grip on
power in Serbia like no one else in the 14 years since his party
took office.
The newly formed Students’ List movement was shaped by university
students but none actually appeared on the election list. Instead,
its candidates are little-known experts, athletes, farmers and
artists.
This approach was meant to counter Vucic’s one-man rule and restore
a sense of community and solidarity. The students’ message during
the campaign focused on a non-partisan effort to rebuild Serbia’s
economy and restore its democracy.
The students have used youthful energy to attract voters who are
disillusioned with local politicians. Vilified by pro-government
media, they cycled and walked through the country to reach voters in
rural areas — Vucic’s traditional strongholds.
The student victory echoed the recent electoral defeat of a Vucic
ally in Hungary, where youth participation helped oust the
autocratic Viktor Orbán after 16 years and bring in a new
pro-European government. It was likely to resonate beyond Serbia as
countries across Europe have faced angry youth and student protests.
The vote was closely watched in the EU
Monitors predicted that total turnout in the election could reach
around 70%, unseen in Serbia since 2000. During the day, long queues
formed at polling stations in Serbia and in cities around the world.
Some in the Serbian diaspora were made to vote in the middle of the
night after authorities tied voting hours to local Serbian time.
Recent Serbian elections had been marred by irregularities and the
EU was closely watching the conduct of Sunday's vote in a candidate
nation for the bloc's membership.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the
student movement, saying “people of Serbia turned out in record
numbers to shape their country’s future.”
“We stand ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media
freedom, the fight against corruption and strong democratic
institutions, and to work together to advance Serbia’s future in the
European Union,” she said.
Independent election monitors reported dozens of cases of
irregularities on Sunday such as photographing of ballots that
suggested pressure on voters and attempted vote buying.
Both international and local election monitors had expressed concern
about the safety and fairness of an election campaign marked by
detentions, near-total government control over the media and reports
of surveillance and cyberattacks against activists.
Local elections earlier this year in 10 municipalities in Serbia saw
violent attacks on journalists and activists. The previous
parliamentary vote in 2023 was followed by opposition protests
alleging fraud.
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