Student-led opposition defeats Vučić's party in Serbian parliamentary election

Serbia's political landscape shifted dramatically this week following the parliamentary election victory of the Students' List, a reform-minded coalition that originated in protests sparked by a deadly 2024 railway station canopy collapse in Novi Sad. The disaster killed sixteen people and revealed allegations of corruption involving a Chinese-built infrastructure project, prompting sustained demonstrations against the ruling government for nearly two years.

Aleksandar Vučić, who had controlled Serbian politics for more than fourteen years, conceded defeat on election night. He projected that the opposition would win between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-seat National Assembly, while his own bloc would receive approximately 105 seats. The Students' List's leading candidate, Ilija Srdanović, committed to establishing a government based on the rule of law. Vučić had resigned from the presidency in late September after being constitutionally barred from a third term, hoping that a snap election would instead secure him the premiership.

This electoral outcome represents a significant reversal for Vučić, a politician who transformed himself from an ultranationalist into a self-styled reformer while navigating Serbia's complex foreign relations with both Moscow and Beijing alongside efforts toward European Union membership. The election result is expected to substantially influence Serbia's foreign policy strategy and its long-delayed EU accession process.