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Vucic concedes defeat as students win Serbia vote

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Serbia's student-backed electoral list is projected to win 141 parliamentary seats, according to Ipsos/CeSID estimates, after Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in Sunday's snap election.

Student List secures parliamentary majority

The Student List received a projected 53% of the vote, while the United Serbia list backed by Vucic secured 38.8%, according to Ipsos and the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), based on 98.4% of the sample. The projections give the Student List 141 seats in the 250-member parliament, above the 126 needed for a majority.

“We still do not have final results, but, based on a sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections. The Student List has won,” Vucic said, estimating that his camp would secure around 105 seats.

Celebrations erupt in Belgrade

Vucic's concession prompted celebrations in Belgrade, where cars honked and students chanted “victory” and “he's done”, Reuters reported. Many celebrants were still coming to terms with the scale of the projected result.

During his speech, Vucic accused his opponents of lying and again suggested foreign interference. Those allegations were not established as facts in the available reporting.

Two years of student-led protests

The snap election, called in September, followed nearly two years of student-led demonstrations against corruption and what protesters describe as growing authoritarianism.

The movement gained momentum after 16 people died when a canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad in 2024. The tragedy triggered nationwide protests and turned the students into a major political challenge to Vucic, who served as prime minister from 2014 to 2017 and president from 2017.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

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