Serbia’s student-led protest movement has secured a victory, capturing 53 per cent of the vote and 141 of the 250 seats in parliament during Sunday’s election, as reported by The Irish Times. This decisive outcome brings an end to the 14-year rule of Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian Progressive party (SNS), powered by an unprecedented 70 per cent voter turnout and two years of intense anti-government demonstrations sparked by a fatal infrastructure disaster.
Gathering in Pioneers Park to Outline Institutional Reforms
Gathering under the trees in Belgrade’s Pioneers Park just across from the national assembly, members of the Student List addressed a crowd holding placards that read Love prevailed for the people and Serbia
, according to The Guardian. The victors quickly pivoted from celebration to institutional overhaul, demanding the dismissal of senior law enforcement officials, including the chiefs of the criminal police, the paramilitary gendarmerie, and an anti-terrorism unit.
Student List candidate Svetlana Stanarević earned applause from supporters when she accused those officials of breaking the law, while also calling for the resignation of Serbia’s internal intelligence agency director for operating the organization as a party security service rather than a state one.
For years, for decades, people have been really frustrated. We see this as a time where everyone who was honestly and credibly working within [public] institutions can do their jobs. They are no longer under political pressure, and we ask them to do their jobs, which also means for prosecutors to prosecute, and police to investigate.The Guardian
Student List Operates Without Rigid Hierarchy
Unlike traditional political outfits, the Student List operates without a rigid hierarchy or single leader. Although student assemblies selected the candidates, they will not hold direct control over them once sworn in as MPs.
Borko Stefanović, who participated in the 2000 protests against Slobodan Milošević, warned The Guardian about the risk:
There is this almost legendary saying in Serbia that we won on the 5th of October [2000] over Milošević, but we never had the 6th of October. Get the right people in the right places, bring swift legal justice, liberate institutions and the media, and allow the prosecutor’s office to arrest criminals. Everyone who wants to contribute to the reforms needs to get on board and to do everything we can to make this excellent example in Europe a lasting one.The Guardian
Complex Foreign Policy and Economic Hurdles Ahead
Beyond domestic institutional purges, the new leaders face intricate geopolitical and economic realities. As reported by RTE.ie, the Student List has maintained that Kosovo remains an integral part of Serbia. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc stood ready to support reforms including on the rule of law and media freedom and to work together to advance Serbia’s future in the EU.
Energy policy presents an immediate entanglement. The Student List has indicated no plans to align with the European Union in imposing sanctions on Moscow due to the war in Ukraine, leaving the new government reliant on US sanctions waivers. These waivers are necessary to maintain crude imports while awaiting the sale of Russia’s stake in energy company NIS—which operates Serbia’s sole oil refinery—to Hungary’s MOL, while Gazprom continues supplying roughly 2.2 billion cubic metres of gas annually at below-market rates, RTE.ie notes.
Social Spending Targets Aim to Curb Youth Emigration
Social spending targets include affordable housing for young couples, teachers, and healthcare staff to curb youth emigration.
Cultural life has already begun reacting to the shift. The organizers of the Exit music festival confirmed they will return to Novi Sad next year after relocating in protest of Vučić’s administration, as reported by The Guardian.
🇷🇸 Serbian Students List got more votes among Bosniaks than Bosnian parties combined.Novi Pazar – 2026 Election Results:🇷🇸 Students’ List – 38.7%🇧🇦 Rasim Ljajic’s list – 20.6%🇷🇸 Vucic SNS – 18.9%🇧🇦 SDA Sandzak – 9.4%🇧🇦 SPP – 6.5%🇦🇱 Albanian Coalition – 0.06%
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