Serbia's Student List wins 141 seats and begins 90-day government clock

The Student List won 53% of the vote in Serbia's parliamentary election, securing 141 of the 250 seats in the national assembly. This victory ends the 14-year rule of former president Aleksandar Vučić and forces the movement to begin forming a government within 90 days. The result was confirmed by the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy in Belgrade after all ballot samples were counted.

Vučić conceded defeat late on Sunday. His Serbian Progressive party won 39% of the vote, leaving it with 103 seats. The remaining seats went to lists representing national minorities. The election concludes a two-year period of anti-government protests that began after a canopy collapse at the Novi Sad railway station killed 16 people.

The Student List operates without a designated leader or hierarchy. It relies on collective decision-making, a structure that has made the selection of a prime minister and cabinet unclear. The candidate roster included academics, actors, farmers, and students. Prominent figures in the movement include Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist who headed the candidate list; Dejan Šoškić, a former central bank governor; and Radomir Saičić, a chemistry professor at Belgrade University who addressed the public after the win.

The movement faces the task of replacing institutions staffed by civil servants loyal to the outgoing regime. Dušan Vučićević, an analyst, noted that the group has focused on domestic political issues, including the dismantling of institutions from the national to the local level. He described the outcome as an experiment in grassroots democracy that secured more than half the vote.

Ana Mirković, a university educationist and candidate, stated that the movement's first priority is the social and psychological detoxification of the country. She described the election result not as a gain of power, but as a historic debt to the people and their children. Mirković said the new government will aim to rebuild society by disclosing all contracts and financial flows, depoliticizing the judiciary, and renewing education and healthcare systems.

The Student List platform includes creating an independent police unit accountable to prosecutors rather than the interior ministry. It also proposes purging police officers linked to organized crime and banning party loyalists from state-owned companies. New independent bodies would oversee major state infrastructure contracts to ensure financial accountability.

The movement kept foreign policy issues in the background during the campaign. The Kremlin expressed hope on Monday that the new leaders understand that cooperation with Russia is in Serbia's interests. Vučić, who maintained close ties with Russia, blamed his defeat on direct support from European countries and the US deep state.

International leaders offered support on Monday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, called the result a new chapter in the country's history. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said Berlin would actively support Serbia's European path, noting that the students' demand for the rule of law reached the people.

Nikola Burazer, programme director at the Belgrade-based Centre for Contemporary Politics, said the movement's decision-making process needs to be sped up. He noted that choosing candidates took months. Burazer said the public will focus on the government's structure once the celebration subsides, a transition that seemed like a fantasy just 24 hours earlier.

Serbia's constitution requires the new parliament to convene within 30 days of the official election result. The government must be formed within 90 days of that date. The country must also hold new presidential elections before 27 December, as Vučić stepped down from the presidency to run for prime minister.