{"id":11365,"date":"2026-10-26T02:48:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T02:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11365"},"modified":"2026-10-26T02:48:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T02:48:46","slug":"serbias-strongman-leader-vucic-concedes-defeat-to-student-led-movement-in-seismic-political-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11365","title":{"rendered":"Serbia’s strongman leader Vucic concedes defeat to student-led movement in seismic political shift"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Youngsters<\/picture>
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Youngsters cheer after polls closed for the parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 25. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BELGRADE, Serbia \u2014 The long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat on Sunday in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government.<\/p>\n

It was a seismic political shift in the Balkan country where Vucic, who had been endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and who denounced the student movement as a foreign-led attempt to unseat him, led with virtually absolute power for 14 years.<\/p>\n

Almost immediately, crowds flooded the streets of the capital Belgrade and other Serbian cities in an outburst of euphoric celebration.<\/p>\n

Belgrade resident Dragana Kovacevic was thrilled that \u201ceveryone greets with smiles.\u201d She said “we are all too happy, finally we are becoming one normal and free country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maja Stetic said she feels \u201cfantastic.\u201d Vucic’s outster, she said, “means liberation for me, means a new future for us and our children.\u201d<\/p>\n

High turnout and gathering tensions marked the highly contested parliamentary election that was a showdown between Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party and university students who, accusing the government of corruption and dismantling democracy, had built a popular following across the country.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/picture>
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People celebrate after Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) conceded defeat in the parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 25. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Serbia’s 6.4 million voters were electing lawmakers to the 250-member Parliament. In conceding the election, Vucic said his party projects that his opponents, the youth-backed Students\u2019 List, will take between 135 and 140 seats while his SNS party will have around 105.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Students\u2019 List has won,\u201d Vucic told supporters at his party’s election night event, though he blamed Serbia’s independent media as well as alleged interference by unnamed European countries and an \u201dAmerican deep state” for the loss.<\/p>\n

Belgrade erupts in celebration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vucic said that his SNS party won around 1.7 million votes compared to the Students\u2019 List, which he said took around 2.2 million.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the Students’ List drove around Belgrade in cars, honking horns, singing, shouting and chanting: \u201cAleksandar is gone,\u201d referring to Vucic. Crowds swiftly dismantled the fences and tents at a park in central Belgrade where Vucic\u2019s loyalists had been camping for over a year and gathered earlier on Sunday. One tent was later set on fire in the now-abandoned camp.<\/p>\n

The outcome, which Vucic announced only around an hour and a half after polls closed, came after tensions had built as voting progressed during the day.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/picture>
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People celebrate after Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) conceded defeat in the parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 25. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Police in anti-riot gear had cordoned off an area in central Belgrade around the election commission headquarters. Special police vehicles could be seen near the pro-Vucic camp, and large groups of black-clad men had congregated at various points throughout the city.<\/p>\n

Protests over corruption lead to Vucic’s fall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vucic was seeking become Serbia’s prime minister after serving two near-full terms as president. He resigned the presidency last month to lead the campaign.<\/p>\n

Support for the populist had eroded since 16 people were killed in 2024 when a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad. That set off a wave of youth protests that blamed the collapse on high-level corruption, cronyism and rampant graft during renovation work at the station.<\/p>\n

Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the victims, was in the crowd celebrating in Belgrade. Sobbing, Hrka told N1 television: \u201cI have been waiting for this moment for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I expect that they will all be held accountable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Aleksandar<\/picture>
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Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) speaks at the party headquarters, conceding defeat in the parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 25. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the protests, Vucic retained considerable support among many of Serbia\u2019s voters. Admirers viewed him as a capable leader who can steer the nation through global uncertainties \u2014 the image that was carefully crafted by the mainstream media.<\/p>\n

Student movement campaigned on rebuilding democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the increasingly authoritarian Vucic has routinely outplayed Serbia\u2019s fractured opposition in the past, the leaderless youth movement proved to be a tough opponent that rattled his firm grip on power in Serbia like no one else in the 14 years since his party took office.<\/p>\n

The newly formed Students\u2019 List movement was shaped by university students but none actually appeared on the election list. Instead, its candidates are little-known experts, athletes, farmers and artists.<\/p>\n

This approach was meant to counter Vucic\u2019s one-man rule and restore a sense of community and solidarity. The students\u2019 message during the campaign focused on a non-partisan effort to rebuild Serbia\u2019s economy and restore its democracy.<\/p>\n

The students have used youthful energy to attract voters who are disillusioned with local politicians. Vilified by pro-government media, they cycled and walked through the country to reach voters in rural areas \u2014 Vucic\u2019s traditional strongholds.<\/p>\n

The student victory echoed the recent electoral defeat of a Vucic ally in Hungary, where youth participation helped oust the autocratic Viktor Orb\u00e1n after 16 years and bring in a new pro-European government. It was likely to resonate beyond Serbia as countries across Europe have faced angry youth and student protests.<\/p>\n

Vote closely watched in EU<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monitors predicted that total turnout in the election could reach around 70 percent, unseen in Serbia since 2000. During the day, long queues formed at polling stations in Serbia and in cities around the world. Some in the Serbian diaspora were made to vote in the middle of the night after authorities tied voting hours to local Serbian time.<\/p>\n

Recent Serbian elections had been marred by irregularities and the EU was closely watching the conduct of Sunday’s vote in a candidate nation for the bloc’s membership.<\/p>\n

Independent election monitors reported dozens of cases of irregularities on Sunday such as photographing of ballots that suggested pressure on voters and attempted vote buying.<\/p>\n

Both international and local election monitors had expressed concern about the safety and fairness of an election campaign marked by detentions, near-total government control over the media and reports of surveillance and cyberattacks against activists.<\/p>\n

Local elections earlier this year in 10 municipalities in Serbia saw violent attacks on journalists and activists. The previous parliamentary vote in 2023 was followed by opposition protests alleging fraud.<\/p>\n

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Youngsters cheer after polls closed for the parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 25. AP-Yonhap BELGRADE, Serbia \u2014 The long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat on Sunday in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government. It was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t