Aleksandar Vučić, the leader of Serbia’s governing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), has conceded defeat in the snap parliamentary election held on Sunday 25 October, according to Euronews. The outlet reported late that evening that Mr Vučić acknowledged the student-backed Student List would take between 135 and 140 of the 250 seats in the National Assembly, which would give it a clear majority. The seat range is Mr Vučić’s own estimate as reported by Euronews, which described the story as still developing. It is not an official seat allocation, and counting continued after election night.
Earlier in the day, Serbia’s election commission reported turnout of 64.9 per cent by 17:00 GMT, according to Al Jazeera, which described that as the highest turnout since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992. Polls closed at 8pm local time.
What Voters Were Deciding
About 6.5 million people were eligible to choose the 250 members of the National Assembly, with 18 electoral lists competing, Al Jazeera reports. A majority of 126 seats is needed to form a government. The vote was to determine whether the SNS, which has been in power since 2012, could retain power. Aleksandar Vučić resigned as president in September to run for prime minister, the report says.
The main challenger described by Al Jazeera is a list called Students Win, which grew out of protests that began after the November 2024 collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad railway station, in which 16 people died. Mr Vučić and the SNS deny accusations of corruption and repression, and he promised higher pensions, public-sector wages and investment during the campaign. The report adds that supporters credit his rule with modernising the economy.
Monitors’ Reports and Security
Two election-monitoring groups, CRTA and CeSID, reported concerns during the day. CRTA said its observers recorded pressure on voters or election workers at almost a third of the 500 polling stations it monitored, and also reported failures to protect ballot secrecy. CeSID said it had received about 260 reports of potential irregularities by 16:00 GMT, including ballot photography, group voting and difficulties with identification checks. These are the monitors’ own reports; the source does not say how the election commission or the authorities responded to them.
In Belgrade, police wearing riot helmets and carrying shields were deployed near the election commission’s headquarters, where roads were closed and barricades erected. City prosecutors appealed for everyone involved to avoid violence, according to Al Jazeera.
Why It Matters
High turnout does not by itself show which side gained support. Jelena Vasiljević, a University of Belgrade researcher, told Al Jazeera that the SNS has a reliable voter base while the students need to draw in people who normally do not vote. Official confirmation from the election commission, the final seat allocation, any challenges to the count and the monitors’ final assessments will determine how the result is received. The seat figures reported on election night are Mr Vučić’s projections, not certified results, and readers should check the Republic Electoral Commission’s published count.
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