Serbia Election Looms: Tens of Thousands Rally for Change as Opposition Challenges Vucic's Long Rule

Tens of thousands of supporters of Serbia’s student-led opposition movement converged in central Belgrade on Thursday for their final rally, aiming to unseat veteran leader Aleksandar Vucic’s party in the upcoming parliamentary election. The massive crowds filled the capital, while Vucic concurrently held a rival rally at a sports hall across town.

Waving flags emblazoned with “students are winning” and blowing whistles, the marchers made their way to Slavija Square, a site that has hosted some of the movement’s largest protests. Sunday’s vote is widely viewed as a critical opportunity to end Vucic’s extensive tenure in power.

“Really, for the first time in my life, I believe that it is possible,” shared Marija Nedeljkovic Radic, 47, who expressed that the youth had instilled in her hope for “a normal country.” The election follows nearly two years of student-led demonstrations, initially sparked by the 2024 collapse of a canopy at a newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad, which resulted in 16 fatalities.

The Student List, a movement comprised of student-backed candidates without a single leader, is campaigning to oust Vucic’s right-wing populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has governed for over 14 years. The movement is fielding 250 candidates for the 250-seat parliament, many of whom are academics or political newcomers, with a primary focus on combating corruption.

“We are putting an end to 14 years of humiliation, chaos and betrayal, and to decades of putting personal and party interests above yours,” university professor Jugoslav Gasic, a candidate for the Student List, declared to the Belgrade crowd, who responded with chants of “Victory, victory!” He added, “You deserve better, and we know how to deliver it. Students are winning!”

The railway disaster, widely attributed to corruption, ignited some of the largest protests in Serbia since the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. Demands for transparency evolved into calls for an early election. Throughout the preceding week, students conducted marches across the country, including in rural areas considered strongholds for Vucic.

Vucic, who stepped down as president in September to run for prime minister, announced the snap election last month. He has alleged that the movement is a foreign-funded coup attempt. “Let us go out and defeat them! Defeat them decisively!” he urged his supporters on Thursday.

Serbia lacks reliable independent polling data. However, political scientist Dusan Vucicevic informed AFP news agency that he anticipates the students to secure over 40 percent of the vote, a significantly higher figure than any opposition list has achieved since the SNS came to power in 2012. The Associated Press reported that polls indicate a close contest between the two factions, raising concerns about potential incidents should either side claim victory.

Twenty-four Serbian civil society organizations issued a warning this week, stating that conditions for “free and fair elections” are not being met. A monitoring group has also documented over 100 violent incidents during the campaign period. On Wednesday, prosecutors questioned six individuals apprehended on suspicion of planning “violence, riots and attacks” on election day.