Early reports suggest Serbian voters have turned out in large numbers for the country's election, as a student protest movement attempts to end the rule of its right-wing populist leader. Preliminary reports from the parliamentary election suggest a record high turnout, with 46% having cast their vote by 14:00 local time ( ), nearly a million more than the comparable figure for the previous election in December 2023. The apparent high turnout is fuelling the hopes of opposition party Student List that they can oust Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), who have been in power since 2012.
The snap elections called by Vučić follow two years of student protests triggered by the 2024 collapse of a train station canopy, which killed 16 and was seen as emblematic of corruption and negligence in Serbia. Anti-corruption movement Student List are running on a manifesto including purging officials who broke rules cracking down on protesters, stopping party loyalists heading public enterprises, and freeing the public broadcaster of political control. Vučić and the SNS party deny corruption and seeking to influence the media.
What you need to know about Serbia's pivotal election Student movement takes Serbia's Vučić to the wire in neck-and-neck election Most commentators suggest that a high final turnout, 65% or above, would favour the students. Voting ends at 20:00, with first indications of results expected two hours later. Long queues formed outside polling stations in larger cities and smaller towns alike in Serbia, and at polling stations abroad - including Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, Munich, Los Angeles and Chicago.
In Paris, Serbian voters waited in line in heavy rain. Tensions are high across Serbia. In Belgrade, police have closed streets around the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK).
In the street nearby, cars at the traffic lights lowered their windows to blast one of the students' anthems from loudspeakers, 'I want three kisses' - a folk song favoured because the Students' List is number three on the ballot paper. Young people on the pavement nearby started dancing. Vučić and his SNS party are number one on the ballot paper.
He has spent two terms as president and cannot seek a third term, so he is now leading his party with the aim of returning to the post of prime minister, which he left in 2017. He retains strong support among a significant section of Serbia's population. They view him as a strong leader who stands up for the country's interests.
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