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Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia’s long‑time president, acknowledged that his party had lost the early parliamentary elections held on Sunday, 15 March 2025. “We still do not have the final results… it is clear that we have lost these elections,” the right‑wing populist said late on Sunday after preliminary figures were released by the Serbian electoral commission. The vote, which saw a record turnout of 64.9 % of the electorate by 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT), was dominated by the Student List, an anti‑corruption movement that had mobilised voters across the country. The movement’s lead candidate, Ilija Srdanović, told the BBC that the election would bring “a free state” and that it would “free the country from tyranny.” Vučić had called the early elections after two years of protests sparked by the 2024 collapse of a canopy at a train station in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. The incident was widely seen as a symbol of government corruption and negligence. He had served two terms as president and was ineligible to run for a third; his party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), sought to return him to the premiership, a position he had held until 2017. The Student List, which has no clear leadership and draws candidates from a wide range of professions—including doctors, actors, academics and athletes—promised a purge of officials involved in the repression of protests, the removal of party loyalists from public enterprises, and the end of political control over the state broadcaster. Vučić, who has repeatedly denied corruption allegations, has promoted a platform that includes raising pensions and public‑sector wages and increasing investment in state health care. He also supports Serbia’s EU membership bid while refusing to impose sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The election day was marked by long lines at polling stations throughout Serbia and in overseas centres in cities such as Ljubljana, Munich, Los Angeles and Chicago. In Paris, Serbian voters stood in the rain to cast their ballots. Police cordoned the streets around the Republic Electoral Commission in Belgrade amid heightened tensions. Celebrations erupted in Belgrade’s streets after Vučić’s announcement, with crowds dancing, chanting “victory,” and setting off fireworks. A student told the BBC, “Serbia is free. It is a miracle.” In Novi Sad, the city that sparked the protests, crowds gathered in the city centre, with one celebrant saying, “Now everything will get better.” The article was originally written in English and translated with the help of an artificial‑intelligence tool, which was subsequently reviewed by a BBC journalist. Article source: Prensa Libre | Image credit: Prensa Libre
Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia’s long‑time president, acknowledged that his party had lost the early parliamentary elections held on Sunday, 15 March 2025. “We still do not have the final results… it is clear that we have lost these elections,” the right‑wing populist said late on Sunday after preliminary figures were released by the Serbian electoral commission. The vote, which saw a record turnout of 64.9 % of the electorate by 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT), was dominated by the Student List, an anti‑corruption movement that had mobilised voters across the country. The movement’s lead candidate, Ilija Srdanović, told the BBC that the election would bring “a free state” and that it would “free the country from tyranny.” Vučić had called the early elections after two years of protests sparked by the 2024 collapse of a canopy at a train station in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. The incident was widely seen as a symbol of government corruption and negligence. He had served two terms as president and was ineligible to run for a third; his party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), sought to return him to the premiership, a position he had held until 2017. The Student List, which has no clear leadership and draws candidates from a wide range of professions—including doctors, actors, academics and athletes—promised a purge of officials involved in the repression of protests, the removal of party loyalists from public enterprises, and the end of political control over the state broadcaster. Vučić, who has repeatedly denied corruption allegations, has promoted a platform that includes raising pensions and public‑sector wages and increasing investment in state health care. He also supports Serbia’s EU membership bid while refusing to impose sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The election day was marked by long lines at polling stations throughout Serbia and in overseas centres in cities such as Ljubljana, Munich, Los Angeles and Chicago. In Paris, Serbian voters stood in the rain to cast their ballots. Police cordoned the streets around the Republic Electoral Commission in Belgrade amid heightened tensions. Celebrations erupted in Belgrade’s streets after Vučić’s announcement, with crowds dancing, chanting “victory,” and setting off fireworks. A student told the BBC, “Serbia is free. It is a miracle.” In Novi Sad, the city that sparked the protests, crowds gathered in the city centre, with one celebrant saying, “Now everything will get better.” The article was originally written in English and translated with the help of an artificial‑intelligence tool, which was subsequently reviewed by a BBC journalist.
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