Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Belgrade and other Serbian cities on Sunday evening after Aleksandar Vučić admitted the defeat of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the early parliamentary elections.
According to projections from CeSID and Ipsos, the Student List won around 52 per cent of the vote, while Vučić's list secured around 39 per cent. The final official results are still awaited.
A large crowd gathered at Slavija Square in Belgrade. According to a report by the Nova.rs portal, cars honked, citizens sang, clapped and chanted, while some of the assembled people started dancing a kolo. This square hosted some of the largest gatherings against Vučić's government during the nearly two years of protests.
Several thousand people also gathered at Republic Square, from where they set off in a procession towards the central celebration venue. Among them were many students and young people, who carried flags and chanted slogans in support of the Student List. A large number of citizens also gathered in front of the National Assembly of Serbia, where several hundred people climbed the assembly steps and sang and chanted against Vučić. According to a report by the Beta agency, they did not attempt to enter the building.
The great celebration continued in Novi Sad, the city where the student protest movement began almost two years ago. Citizens filled Freedom Square, and among the songs heard was "Živeti slobodno" by Đorđe Balašević. Columns of cars drove through the streets with constant honking, while citizens carried Serbian flags, sang and danced. It was there on 1 November 2024 that the railway station canopy collapsed, killing 16 people. The tragedy sparked mass protests that eventually grew into a political movement against Vučić's government.
A large number of citizens gathered in front of the Student List's election headquarters in Niš. In Kraljevo, celebrations took place at the Square of Serbian Warriors, and festivities were also recorded in Kragujevac, Novi Pazar, Vranje, Valjevo, Čačak, Smederevo and Šabac. In Vranje, citizens also gathered in front of the Serbian Progressive Party premises.
The celebration continued at the Student List's election headquarters in Belgrade, where professor Aleksandar Čupić joined the assembled crowd. Together, they sang the song "Hajde, grade, svi uz naše mlade", which was also heard at the students' final pre-election rally at Slavija.
The Student List emerged from a movement that had organised protests, faculty blockades and mass gatherings against corruption and the manner of governing Serbia for almost two years. After admitting defeat, Vučić accused certain European states, the American "deep state" and independent media of participating in the overthrow of his government, without providing evidence for these claims.
