Serbian Students Win 141 Seats in Landslide, Face Tight Deadline
The leaderless Student List secured 53% of the vote, ending Aleksandar Vučić's 14-year rule, but must form a cabinet within 90 days without a designated prime minister.
By Beatriz Soto ·
Serbia’s political landscape shifted sharply on Sunday when Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat after 14 years in power. The former strongman, who served as president and later ran for prime minister, lost to the Student List, a movement with no prior experience in government administration.
Official counts from the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy show the Student List captured 53% of the total vote. This victory granted the group 141 seats in the 250-member parliament. Vučić’s Serbian Progressive party finished second with 39% of the vote, securing 103 seats. National minority lists claimed the remaining seats.
The Student List operates without a central hierarchy, a structure that complicates the immediate task of appointing a prime minister and cabinet. Prominent figures in the movement include Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist who headed the candidate list; Dejan Šoškić, a former central bank governor; and Radomir Saičić, a chemistry professor at Belgrade University. Saičić addressed the public following the victory, representing the collective group.
Ana Mirković, a university educationist and candidate, described the win as a responsibility rather than a privilege. She stated that the group views the result as a historic debt to the people. Mirković identified the “social and psychological detoxification” of the country as the first priority for the incoming administration.
The movement’s platform focuses on dismantling what Vučićević, an analyst, called a “system of intimidation.” Key proposals include creating an independent police unit accountable to prosecutors, purging officers linked to organized crime, and banning party loyalists from state-owned companies. The group also aims to subject major state infrastructure contracts to scrutiny by new independent bodies.
Constitutional rules impose strict timelines on the new leaders. The parliament must convene within 30 days of the official election result. A 90-day deadline follows for the formation of the new government. Additionally, Serbia must hold new presidential elections before 27 December because Vučić stepped down from that role to campaign for the prime ministership.
International reactions varied. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, pledged active support for Serbia’s European path. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the new chapter and thanked Serbia for respecting its independence. Meanwhile, the Kremlin expressed hope that the new leaders would understand that cooperation with Russia remains in Serbia’s interests.
