150,000 gather in Belgrade as Serbia votes in tight parliamentary race

Approximately 150,000 people gathered in Slavija Square in Belgrade on Thursday to support the Student List, a movement challenging Serbia’s long-serving leader Aleksandar Vučić. The rally capped a campaign that analysts describe as the country’s closest parliamentary race in decades, with polls indicating a narrow margin between the two main contenders. Voters will cast ballots on Sunday for the new parliament.

The Student List emerged from nearly two years of anti-corruption protests that began after a canopy collapsed at a railway station in Novi Sad, killing 16 people. Rather than selecting a single front-runner, university assemblies in Serbia chose 250 candidates for the ballot. The slate includes academics, engineers, economists, and athletes, none of whom have prior political experience. Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist and professor at Novi Sad University, tops the list. He stated that it is normal to stand alongside students to aid their fair struggle, though he noted he is not the movement’s leader and may not become prime minister if the group wins.

Vučić has held senior executive roles in Serbia since 2012, serving as deputy prime minister, prime minister, and president. He resigned as president last month to run for the prime ministerial post in the snap election. His supporters credit him with driving economic growth and infrastructure development over the past decade. However, critics argue his Serbian Progressive Party controls state institutions and media. An international election observation mission noted an overwhelming advantage for the ruling party in the 2023 vote, citing media bias and the misuse of public resources.

The Novi Sad station renovation, part of a high-speed rail link to Budapest, has complicated Vučić’s position. Magda Anastasijevic, an analyst at the conflict monitor ACLED, observed that Vučić has typically survived political crises by identifying scapegoats, but the canopy incident presented a different challenge. The opposition has also highlighted foreign policy disagreements. Vučić has warned that a Student List government might sever close ties with Russia and China, both of which do not recognize Kosovo’s independence. He asked at a rally whether the student bloc would impose sanctions on Russia, a move that could complicate Serbia’s ongoing, albeit uneven, talks for EU membership.

The final campaign events highlighted the differing strategies of the two sides. The ruling party held a single-speaker rally at Belgrade Arena featuring only Vučić. In contrast, the Student List relied on a large public gathering to present its collective slate. A student at Novi Sad University named Aleksandra described the lack of political veterans as a strength, saying the group gathered the best people in their respective fields. The election pits a model of centralized leadership against a decentralized, expert-driven approach to governance.