Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat in the snap parliamentary election, saying the student-backed Student List won. In an address to journalists and party members at the Serbian Progressive Party headquarters in Belgrade, Vučić said that a stratified sample showed his side had lost. [E1] [E8]
Vučić put the Student List’s result at 135 to 140 mandates in the 250-seat parliament and his own party’s at 105. CeSID-IPSPS pollsters separately projected 138 deputies for the Student List and 104 for the Serbian Progressive Party. [E9] [E2]
Reuters reported that, with almost 99% of votes counted, the State Election Commission had the students’ candidates on 52.7% and the SNS-led alliance on 39.2%. The outlet reported that this division would give the students 139 seats, SNS 97 and minority parties the rest. [E5] [E6]
Turnout reached 67.6% by 7 p.m., according to CeSID and Ipsos, which called it the highest since Yugoslavia’s breakup in 1992. CRTA, an independent election monitor, put turnout at 67.8% at that point, compared with 58.8% in the 2023 general election. [E3] [E10]
The result is a material change from the paper’s 25 October coverage, which described the main camps as close when voting opened. Radomir Saičić, a Belgrade University professor speaking for the students, said at their headquarters that the group would celebrate victory before building the future. [E4]
The institutional result is not yet complete: Reuters reported that the constitution permits up to 90 days to form a government after the State Election Commission announces final results and parliament convenes. [E7]