Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Serbia’s capital on Sunday night, bringing traffic to a halt and celebrating after long-time leader Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in parliamentary elections to a student-backed opposition movement.Trams and vehicles were halted as crowds filled the city’s main boulevards, with smoke hanging in the air and supporters waving flares. The celebrations marked the culmination of a two-year protest movement that had called for Vucic to step down and for an end to what demonstrators described as rampant corruption — allegations the leader has denied.The election marks a major political shift in the Balkan country, where Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) had held power for 14 years. Vucic said his party’s projections showed the Students’ List winning between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member Parliament, compared with around 105 for the SNS.“The Students’ List has won,” Vucic told supporters at his party’s election-night event. He blamed independent media, unnamed European countries and what he called an “American deep state” for the defeat.“That is the best thing that happened in my life. We will now breathe freely,” Milica, a law student, told Reuters said as supporters celebrated in Belgrade.Vucic had served as either prime minister or president since 2014 and presided over a period of strong economic growth. But his government faced mounting opposition after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people. The disaster triggered student-led protests over alleged corruption, cronyism and irregularities in renovation work.The Students’ List was shaped by university students, though students themselves did not appear on the electoral list. Instead, it fielded 250 candidates, including lawyers, professors, actors, farmers and other professionals, in an effort to challenge Vucic’s personalised style of rule and build a broader, non-partisan movement.At the movement’s headquarters, candidates and supporters embraced and cheered as the scale of their victory sank in.“The people have won! The people defeated a dictator! The people will lead Serbia!” said Nebojsa Cosic told Reuters, waving a flag in the street.The movement’s campaign focused on rebuilding the economy and restoring democracy, drawing support from voters disillusioned with established political parties. Supporters travelled by bicycle and on foot through the country to reach voters in rural areas that had traditionally backed Vucic.The election was closely watched by the European Union, as Serbia is a candidate for membership. Monitors reported dozens of suspected irregularities, including ballot photographing that suggested pressure on voters and attempted vote-buying. International and local observers had also raised concerns about detentions, extensive government control over the media, and reports of surveillance and cyberattacks targeting activists.The student-backed victory echoed a recent electoral defeat for Vucic ally Viktor Orbán in Hungary and could resonate across Europe, where youth-led protests have challenged governments over political and economic grievances.The movement now faces the challenge of translating its electoral victory into government, while voters and international observers await the next steps in Serbia’s political transition.
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