Serbia Votes After Two Years Of Protest

Serbia voted on 25 October after nearly two years of student protests that began with a station disaster.

Serbia held a parliamentary election on 25 October. President Aleksandar Vučić's political camp faced a student-backed opposition list. The vote came after nearly two years of student-led protest. The protests began when a railway-station canopy collapsed in 2024 and killed 16 people at the station. The deaths became a focus for anger about alleged corruption, about who answers for public works, and about the condition of public institutions.

The election was closely watched amid worries about control of the media, surveillance, detentions and possible irregularities. Early reports described high turnout. Official results were expected on 26 October, the next day. At the time of reporting, the outcome was not settled. A full polling station is not a winner.

Why it matters

The student-backed list is an attempt to turn a street movement into a ballot. Reports say the slate included professionals and people from outside the usual party ranks, not only established names. The campaign carried the frustration of voters who think the existing structure has failed on corruption and on accountability. Vučić's organisation still has a large base and a machine that knows how to campaign. Reducing the day to "students versus a tired government" would miss the voters who choose stability, price, identity, or the information they actually receive.

Serbia is a candidate for European Union membership. Arguments about fair elections, about the press, and about institutions feed directly into that relationship. If the result is disputed, the count and the bodies that hear complaints become the story. Observers have to look at the campaign, including who could be heard on the air, not only at the hours the polls were open.

What the count still has to show

• Official results were not out when early turnout reports circulated.

• Allegations of irregularity need evidence, not repetition.

• The student list is an electoral project, not only a march.

• The governing camp retains organisation and support.

• A contested result would test the institutions that certify the vote.

Sixteen deaths at a station canopy turned a building failure into a political one. Students stayed in the streets long enough to put a list on the ballot. That is unusual, and it is not the same as winning. Vučić's camp still knows how to turn out its voters. The European Union will read the campaign climate, including who controlled the airwaves, as part of Serbia's candidacy. A high turnout, once official, says the public showed up. The seats come with tomorrow's figures.

What's next

The next days will show whether the governing party is strengthened, whether parliament is more competitive, or whether people go back to the street. For Serbia, the test is whether the electoral machinery can be trusted by people who voted against each other. A disaster that killed 16 people started this argument. An election does not bury that memory. It asks whether the argument can be settled by ballots that both sides will accept.

High turnout, if it holds in the official figures, says people thought the day mattered. It does not say who won. That sentence should wait for 26 October.