Serbia's student-led Student List defeats Vučić at the ballot box after two years of protests

Summary

After two years of protests, a student-led movement has defeated Serbia's authoritarian leader, Aleksandar Vučić, at the ballot box. On Sunday, record numbers of people went to the polls and voted to end Vučić's rule, backing a list of candidates put forward by student activists, half of whom have PhDs. The Student List was built by the student activists whose protests have rocked the Balkan country for the past two years. As polling stations closed on Sunday evening, many feared electoral fraud, a refusal to recognise defeat or violence, but the transfer of power was peaceful. One report gives Vučić's rule as 12 years, while a commentary describes it as nearly 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule. The Guardian podcast features the Serbian-American journalist Ana Milosavljevic, student activist Tara Blagojević and MP-to-be Milica Jovanović discussing how the Student List won and whether a leaderless movement can govern the country. A commentary by Srđjan Cvijić argues that EU leaders who courted the Vučić regime must now offer this reborn democracy a future within the union.

Timeline

1. The Guardian

   29 Oct 2026, 03:00 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian's podcast reports that record numbers of people voted on Sunday to end Aleksandar Vučić's 12-year rule, backing a Student List of candidates, half of whom have PhDs, put forward by student activists after two years of protests.

2. The Guardian

   29 Oct 2026, 05:00 UTCSource ↗

   In a commentary by Srđjan Cvijić, The Guardian reports that Serbia's students achieved the seemingly impossible after nearly 15 years of Vučić's rule, and argues that Europe must offer this reborn democracy a future within the EU.