European leaders have congratulated Serbia's Student List after Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in Sunday's snap parliamentary election, ending a 14-year grip on power for his Serbian Progressive Party. Vucic said preliminary figures suggested the students could win between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-seat parliament, with his own party on about 105.

What Brussels said

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the Student List, noting record turnout, and said the Commission stood ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom and corruption and to advance Serbia's EU future.

Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Serbia had raised its voice after nearly two years of protests for democracy, the rule of law and the fight against corruption, with citizens turning out in historic numbers. Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset welcomed Vucic's acceptance of the result and commitment to a peaceful democratic transition, and said the Council stood ready to work with Serbia's democratically elected leadership.

A vote born of protest

The election followed nearly two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism, triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in 2024. Turnout was the highest in decades: election officials reported nearly 65 per cent of 6.4 million registered voters had cast ballots by 6pm, two hours before polls closed, and monitors estimated turnout above 67 per cent by 7pm.

The official count had not been published when Vucic conceded, and monitors reported dozens of polling-day irregularities, including ballot photographing and alleged vote buying. The celebrations in Belgrade were immediate, with crowds chanting victory and fireworks lighting the skyline, but what government emerges will depend on the final official results.