Serbia heads to snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, October 25, with the Student List posing the most serious electoral challenge to Aleksandar Vucic in years. Opinion polls point to a closely contested race, with neither side assured of an outright parliamentary majority.

Source: IBNA

The campaign concludes on Thursday, October 22, with two rallies in Belgrade: the 'Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia' coalition, led by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), holds its final rally in New Belgrade, while the Student List gathers supporters at Slavija Square, a focal point of anti-government protests. The campaign silence period begins at midnight and runs until polling stations close at 8 p.m. on Sunday.

18electoral lists competing
250seats in the National Assembly
6,450,523registered voters
8,392polling stations, including 93 abroad

On the evening of October 21, Belgrade residents flocked to the city centre to greet processions of students who had spent days marching to the capital from across Serbia for the final 'Student Ticket - The Students Will Win' rally, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday at Slavija Square. Three columns arriving from the north, west and east were greeted in front of the University of Belgrade Rectorate with fireworks, trumpets and applause, the Beta news agency reported.

Source: Beta Briefing

Reuters: beatings, cyberattacks and threats

A Reuters report published on Thursday described an increasingly authoritarian picture ahead of the vote, based on interviews with activists, student protesters and opposition politicians. It recounted the account of Belgrade activist and social media commentator Marko Marjanovic, who said masked officers bundled him into a car, held him in solitary confinement for two days, and had beaten him during anti-government protests in August 2025 - accounts given by Marjanovic and his lawyer. Vucic and the SNS have repeatedly denied accusations of repression and corruption; his office and the Interior Ministry did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Source: Reuters

The election comes nearly two years after the collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, which killed 16 people. Protests demanding accountability grew into the student-led movement now fielding its own candidates. Vucic resigned as president on September 27 to contest the election, seeking to remain in power as prime minister; the SNS has been in power since 2012. A poll this week put the students neck and neck with the SNS, Reuters reported.

Tension has risen further this week after Serbian authorities arrested six people suspected of plotting election-day violence. Read the earlier report

What is solid

  • The snap parliamentary election is on Sunday, October 25, with 18 lists competing for 250 seats.
  • Vucic resigned the presidency on September 27 to contest the election.
  • The student movement grew out of protests after the November 2024 Novi Sad station canopy collapse, which killed 16 people.

What is only claimed

  • Activists and opposition figures allege a campaign of beatings, cyberattacks and threats to silence critics; Vucic and the SNS deny repression and corruption.
  • A poll this week put the Student List neck and neck with the SNS, but no result is settled before Sunday's vote.