Serbia is voting in a parliamentary election that has brought Aleksandar Vucic’s decade-long rule under its strongest challenge yet from a student-led movement campaigning against corruption and authoritarianism.
The snap poll was called by Mr Vucic in September after nearly two years of protests sparked by the deaths of 16 people when a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in 2024.
The demonstrations have attracted widespread support, turning the election into a closely fought contest between the governing Serbian Progressive Party and the opposition Student List.
Serbia parliamentary election becomes test of Vucic’s rule
Opinion polls suggest the result could be tight. An Ipsos survey published on Thursday put the Serbian Progressive Party on 47 per cent, compared with 40 per cent for the students, although other polls have placed the Student List ahead.
A defeat for Mr Vucic would represent a major political shift in the country of about six million people. He resigned as president in September to stand again for prime minister.
Mr Vucic remains a powerful incumbent, with many voters crediting him with helping Serbia emerge from economic obscurity and overseeing sustained modernisation.
During the campaign, he has promised increases in pensions and public sector salaries, greater investment in state healthcare and subsidies for young couples.
He has also pursued closer relations with China and Russia, while keeping open the prospect of Serbia joining the European Union. However, relations with Brussels have deteriorated over what the bloc regards as insufficient progress on judicial reform, the rule of law and corruption.
The Student List is focused on tackling corruption and improving education, but has said little about its foreign policy ambitions. Its 250 candidates include university professors, actors and farmers, and are led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic.
About 150,000 supporters of the movement gathered in central Belgrade on Thursday, underlining the scale of the challenge to the governing party.
Rights groups and activists say repression has intensified since the Novi Sad disaster, which was widely blamed on government corruption. Mr Vucic and his party deny allegations of repression, corruption and spying on opponents.
The former president has also claimed that the student movement is financed by foreign agents in Croatia and Montenegro. The students deny the accusation.
