Serbia votes on Sunday: Vučić against the student list

Serbia elects a new parliament on Sunday, 25 October. All 250 seats in the National Assembly are allocated by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. Parties generally need at least 3% of the vote, while recognised minority lists are exempt from the threshold. Polls close at 8 p.m., with preliminary results expected about two hours later. The regular election was not due until late 2027. Aleksandar Vučić resigned early as president in September and is now leading the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), in power since 2012, as its candidate for prime minister.

The main challenger is the list “Studenti pobeđuju” (Students Win), which grew out of the protest movement that followed the collapse of a concrete canopy at Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, which killed 16 people. Its candidates are mostly politically inexperienced academics, teachers and other professionals. They campaign on the rule of law, fighting corruption and rebuilding institutions. Several opposition parties are not running and back the students, while others risk failing to clear the 3% threshold.

Sociologist Jelena Vasiljević of the University of Belgrade told Al Jazeera that turnout would be decisive, as the students must also mobilise habitual non-voters. Berta López Domènech of the European Policy Centre told Euronews she expects a “very tight” result. Foreign policy is seen as the biggest unknown in the student list’s programme; it has taken a hard line on Kosovo and floated a possible referendum on EU membership. Moscow backs the government and portrays the protests as a Western-backed “colour revolution”.