Serbia’s Vucic concedes defeat to student-backed opposition

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in Sunday's snap parliamentary elections as preliminary projections showed the student-backed opposition alliance securing between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member National Assembly, marking a dramatic reversal for the conservative bloc that has dominated national politics since 2012.

Preliminary Results

Speaking at his party headquarters in Belgrade late Sunday, Vucic acknowledged the preliminary results indicated a clear loss for his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). "Based on the stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections," he told supporters, adding that his "United Serbia" coalition would win approximately 105 seats. "We don't have the results yet. Many will be surprised, and you will realize how much some people have lied," he said.

According to projections released by Ipsos and the Center for Free Elections and Democracy, the "Students Win" electoral list received 52% of the vote while Vucic's coalition took 39.3%. The Socialist Party-led bloc headed by Ivica Dacic captured just 2.3%, according to the partial sample, while a separate projection by the election monitoring organization CRTA gave the student alliance 51.47% and the incumbent coalition 40.42%.

Foreign Interference Claims

Vucic attributed his electoral defeat to interference by several European countries and the "American deep state," accusing foreign actors of influencing Serbia's political developments without specifying which governments were involved. The long-serving president has previously criticized Western support for opposition groups, and Sunday's results represent the first major electoral setback for the SNS since it came to power over a decade ago. In the December 2023 parliamentary elections, the SNS-led coalition secured 46.75% of the vote and 129 seats, winning an outright majority.

Turnout and Electoral Context

Sunday's vote drew a 67.6% turnout by 7 pm according to Ipsos and CeSID estimates, significantly exceeding the 58.7% recorded in December 2023 and prompting over 300 reports of possible irregularities including alleged ballot photography and suspected voter intimidation. The elections followed nearly two years of anti-government demonstrations triggered by the November 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people, with university students leading demands for accountability and emerging as a major political force.

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic congratulated the student-backed list on the US social media platform X, expressing hope the result would improve relations between the neighboring countries. He said he expected the election outcome to contribute to a new chapter in Montenegro-Serbia relations based on friendship, sincere dialogue and a shared European future. Sunday's vote marked Serbia's 15th parliamentary election since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1990.