A vote shaped by two years of protest

Serbia holds a snap parliamentary election on Sunday 25 October 2026, in a contest widely described as the closest of former president Aleksandar Vucic's time in power. Vucic, who resigned as president on 27 September, is running on the Serbian Progressive Party ballot and hopes a parliamentary majority will allow him to return as prime minister, a role he held from 2014 until his presidency.

The snap election was triggered after almost two years of sustained anti-government protests. Those protests grew from demands for accountability over the 1 November 2024 train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. A student-led movement that emerged from that tragedy has formed the Student List, a broad electoral alliance including university professors, teachers and experts.

Why Vucic stepped down

Vucic was barred from seeking a third presidential term, which is why he resigned and moved to the parliamentary contest instead. He launched his campaign for prime minister at a rally in Belgrade's largest indoor arena, telling thousands of supporters that the movement sought to bring Serbia to a halt. He also claimed, without providing evidence, that it was backed by unspecified foreign agents.

The Student List represents an unprecedented challenge to Vucic's dominance, which has shaped Serbian politics since 2014.

What is at stake

The election pits the long-term rule of Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party against a grassroots movement that began in universities and spread across society. Observers have raised concerns about allegations of electoral irregularities and the possibility of a post-election dispute, although no result is reported here because voting was under way on the day covered.