Celebrations swept across Serbia after Gen Z-backed candidates defeated President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling party in a historic election, ending his long grip on power. In Belgrade, crowds filled central squares, cars draped in Serbian flags honked their horns and fireworks lit up the sky as jubilant protesters dismantled barricades around a pro-government encampment near parliament.
The student movement built nationwide support without a single leader and eventually fielded 250 candidates, including academics, lawyers, doctors, farmers, actors and musicians. The student-backed candidates oppose recognising Kosovo’s independence, declared in 2008, while relations with the European Union remain strained over stalled accession talks and the need to normalise ties with Pristina. Visuals circulating on social media showed crowds taking to the streets of Belgrade and other Serbian cities soon after the election results were announced.
Its agenda centres on anti-corruption measures, judicial reform and stronger public institutions. Foreign policy could be another test.
Can the new government deliver reforms?
Under Serbia’s constitution, the student-backed candidates have 90 days to form a government after parliament is convened following the announcement of final election results.
“The new government would have to fight its corner,” warned Bozo Prelevic, a Belgrade-based lawyer and former co-minister of the interior, referring to the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which is expected to remain a formidable opposition force. The students’ victory “is likely to trigger broad institutional and policy changes centred on anti-corruption, the rule of law, and better public services. However, bureaucratic resistance to reforms and the movement’s limited governing experience could make the transition challenging,” Teneo Global Research said in a report on Monday.