Serbia Pits Long-Serving Leader Against Student Bloc in Sunday Vote

Serbians head to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament in a race that analysts predict will be extremely close.

The contest pits Aleksandar Vučić, who has served as deputy prime minister, prime minister, and president since 2012, against the Student List, a collective movement with no single leader. Vučić stood down as president last month to run for prime minister after calling the snap election. He cites a decade of economic growth and infrastructure improvements as his main credentials, while accusing the opposition of foreign backing aimed at destabilizing the state.

The Student List emerged from nearly two years of protests triggered by a canopy collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. University assemblies selected the 250 candidates, who include academics, athletes, engineers, and economists without prior political experience. Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist at Novi Sad University, heads the list but is not the official leader. He told the BBC that supporting the students in their fair struggle is normal for a professor.

The opposition argues that Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party controls state institutions and media, an assessment supported by the International Election Observation Mission’s 2023 report. That report noted an overwhelming ruling party advantage driven by media bias and the misuse of public resources. A pro-government camp has occupied a small park in central Belgrade for 18 months, with residents frequently confronting journalists. Vučić has described this occupation as a symbol of resistance, though party figures did not respond to recent interview requests.

The Novi Sad disaster poses a specific challenge for Vučić because the station renovation was part of his flagship high-speed rail project connecting Belgrade to Budapest. Magda Anastasijevic, an Eastern Europe analyst at ACLED, noted that Vučić usually survives crises by identifying a scapegoat, but the canopy incident did not allow for that strategy. Foreign policy has also entered the campaign, with Vučić warning that Student List leadership could jeopardize Serbia’s close ties with Russia and China, both of which do not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Closing rallies highlighted the structural differences between the two sides. Vučić spoke alone to a crowd at Belgrade Arena, while an estimated 150,000 people gathered in Slavija Square to hear from student candidates. Voters must now decide between a single strong leader and a collective governance model.