Serbia’s students have been on the streets for two years protesting about the deadly consequences of official corruption. Ten days from now, they could be forming the government.
A struggle for Serbia’s soul
When Serbia votes in an early general election on October 25th, the main contenders will be former president Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Student List, which was born out of two years of antigovernment demonstrations led by university students. It will be a referendum on Vučić, who resigned as president last month to lead his party in the elections in the hope of returning as prime minister.
The presidency is limited to two terms but Vučić has been either president or prime minister since 2014 and the SNS has been in power in Serbia since 2012. Vučić’s tenure has seen Serbia’s economy growing steadily but he has also presided over restrictions on media freedom, violent attacks on journalists and civil society activists and widespread corruption that has enriched a small circle.
The student protests began in November 2024 after the collapse of a railway station canopy in Serbia’s second-largest city of Novi Sad killed 16 people. Their initial demands focused on holding local politicians to account for opaque contracts with Chinese construction companies and substandard renovation work at the station.
But as Vučić’s government tried to shift the blame on to architects and building workers and refused to conduct an effective investigation into the tragedy, the protests became more political. When police and pro-government thugs violently attacked them, the students started demanding early elections, attracting about 300,000 people to a demonstration in March 2025 and almost 200,000 to another protest last May.
The students started preparing for the election months ago, holding plenaries at their university faculties to select candidates before releasing the list last month. None of the students are seeking office themselves, a decision designed to emphasise their commitment to the common good rather than to secure power.
No member of the parties currently in government were eligible for selection and members of opposition parties could only be selected if they did not hold leadership positions. Most of the Student List candidates are unknown to the public, although former central bank governor Dejan Šoškić is among them and has become a prominent spokesman.
The candidates are ideologically diverse and among the most prominent demands in the Student List’s manifesto are the creation of a free media landscape, safeguarding judicial independence and the introduction of a law to scrutinise the origins of wealth. Other priorities include improving the educational system, extending access to healthcare and making housing more affordable for young people.
Vučić is promising stability and the continuation of a foreign policy that has seen Serbia maintain close ties with China, Russia and the United States while pursuing European Union membership. Amid warnings from the Committee to Protect Journalists that reporters covering the election were subject to violent attack, the EU’s delegation in Belgrade this week warned Vučić’s government that it was watching the vote closely.
“Free, fair and transparent elections in line with international standards are required for Serbia to meet the democratic criteria to advance towards EU membership,” the delegation said.
“We are concerned by several reported incidents of violence which have no place in an electoral process. All instances of violence require swift, transparent and credible institutional follow-up so those responsible are brought to justice. Journalists and civil society should be able to operate in a safe environment. We also expect all relevant institutions to act swiftly in cases of possible irregularities during the campaign and on election day, and to address complaints in a timely manner throughout the electoral process.”
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