Serbia votes in snap parliamentary election amid student-led challenge to Vucic

Serbians are voting in a snap parliamentary election that has become a direct test of President Aleksandar Vucic's long hold on power. The ballot pits his ruling camp against a student-led movement built around anti-corruption and anti-authoritarian demands. The vote comes after nearly two years of protests that have reshaped the country's political debate.

The election was called by Vucic in September, and polling is taking place on 25 October. The campaign has been dominated by the Student List, a group that has gained broad support since demonstrations began after the 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. Vucic has held power as prime minister and then president for more than a decade, and he resigned as president in September to run again for prime minister.

Polls have suggested a close contest. One survey published on Thursday put Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party on 47 percent and the student-backed list on 40 percent, although other polls have shown the students ahead. The student slate has 250 largely unfamiliar candidates, including university professors, actors and farmers, and is led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic.

Vucic has campaigned on promises of higher pensions, higher public sector salaries, investment in state healthcare and subsidies for young couples. The result matters well beyond the immediate parliamentary arithmetic. Serbia is a Balkan country of about 6 million people, and a loss for Vucic would mark a major political shift.

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The contest is also being watched for what it could mean for Serbia's relations with the European Union, which has grown increasingly frustrated over slow reforms on the judiciary, the rule of law and corruption. At the same time, Vucic has continued to balance ties with China and Russia while leaving open the possibility of EU membership. The protests that fed into this election began after the Novi Sad disaster and developed into a wider challenge to what critics describe as corruption and creeping authoritarianism.

Supporters of the government say Vucic has helped pull Serbia out of economic obscurity and overseen a period of modernisation. That contrast has made the campaign a referendum not only on the current government, but also on the direction of the state itself. What remains unclear is whether the student movement can convert street mobilisation into parliamentary power.

The final result will determine whether Vucic can extend his political dominance or whether Serbia is entering a new phase of coalition politics and institutional change. The count will also be closely watched for signs of how much public support remains for the government's economic record versus the protest movement's anti-corruption message.

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