Politics News

Serbia's Student List wins, then demands resignations: will it also sanction Russia?

Serbia's Student List, a movement born from nearly two years of protests, won the snap parliamentary election on Sunday, October 25, ending 14 years in power for Aleksandar Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party. Commission data cited by Meduza gave the students 52.54% of the vote against 39.29% for Vučić's list. Vučić, who resigned as president to run for prime minister, conceded on election night and estimated the movement would take 135 to 140 of 250 seats.

“We are moving toward a civilized and better Serbia.” — Ilija Srdanović, via Meduza

By Thursday, The Hindu reported, the students were demanding resignations in the police and judiciary as they prepared to take power. Kuwait Times, carrying AFP copy, traced the movement back to the 2024 collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad railway station, which killed 16 people and was widely blamed on corruption. It also quoted Vučić blaming foreign powers, calling the result “the validation of a revolution carried out with the direct support of various European countries”.

How each outlet framed it

• Kuwait Times — the end of an era, Vučić's foreign-interference claim and EU offers of support.
• Meduza — Russia: Vučić predicts sanctions on Moscow, while Student List figures say sanctions will not be imposed.
• The Hindu — the next step, as the winners push for a clean-out of top police and judicial posts.

Where the numbers differ: AFP reported nearly 65% turnout two hours before polls closed, the highest in more than three decades. Meduza gave a preliminary 68.78% but said the record is still 71.49%, set in 1990.

What we don't know yet: who will be prime minister, and whether Serbia's policy towards Russia will change.