Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in Serbia's parliamentary election on Sunday, October 25, acknowledging that a student-backed opposition movement had beaten his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party. The result marked a major reversal for a leader who had exercised almost unchecked power during his party's 14 years in office.

Speaking to supporters roughly 90 minutes after voting ended, Vucic said his party's projections gave the Students' List between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member Parliament, compared with about 105 for his SNS party. He put their respective vote totals at around 2.2 million and 1.7 million. "The Students' List has won," he said, while blaming independent Serbian media, alleged interference from unnamed European countries and an "American deep state."

Celebrations quickly spread through Belgrade and other cities, with opposition supporters sounding car horns and chanting "Aleksandar is gone." Earlier, tensions had risen as voting continued. Riot police sealed off an area around the election commission headquarters in central Belgrade. Special police vehicles were stationed near a park occupied by Vucic loyalists for more than a year, while groups of men dressed in black gathered elsewhere in the capital.

Vucic, who had received Russian President Vladimir Putin's endorsement, had portrayed the student movement as a foreign-directed effort to remove him. He resigned as president last month after serving two nearly complete terms and entered the parliamentary campaign seeking to become prime minister. His supporters regarded him as capable of guiding Serbia through international uncertainty, an image cultivated by mainstream media.

His support had weakened following the deaths of 16 people when a concrete canopy collapsed at a railway station in Novi Sad in 2024. The disaster prompted youth protests whose participants blamed corruption, cronyism and graft connected to the station's renovation. The movement grew into a nationwide challenge to the government, accusing it of undermining democracy.

Although university students shaped the newly established Students' List, no students stood among its candidates. The slate instead included relatively little-known experts, athletes, farmers and artists. Its campaign emphasized rebuilding the economy and restoring democracy through a non-partisan effort. Students walked and cycled across Serbia to reach disillusioned voters, including those in rural communities traditionally supportive of Vucic, despite hostile coverage from pro-government media.

Election monitors estimated turnout could approach 70 percent, a level Serbia had not seen since 2000. The country's 6.4 million voters were choosing parliamentary representatives, and long lines formed at polling places both at home and abroad. Some diaspora voters had to cast ballots during the night because authorities aligned overseas voting hours with Serbian time.

Independent monitors reported dozens of irregularities, including attempted vote buying and photographs of ballots that suggested voters faced pressure. Local and international observers had also raised concerns about campaign detentions, extensive government control of media, and reported surveillance and cyberattacks against activists. The European Union closely followed the election in Serbia, a candidate for membership.

The vote followed violence against journalists and activists during local elections in 10 municipalities earlier this year, as well as opposition protests alleging fraud after the 2023 parliamentary election. The student-backed victory also echoed the recent defeat of Vucic ally Viktor Orbán in Hungary, where youth participation helped end his 16 years in power and bring in a pro-European government.