Vučić concedes defeat: Student List leads with 135 to 140 of 250 seats, SNS around 105

Aleksandar Vučić on October 25, after polling stations closed in the snap parliamentary elections, conceded defeat of his list. “It is clear that we have lost these elections,” he said, citing preliminary results based on a sample of votes. According to him, the Student List would win 135 to 140 seats in the 250-seat parliament, and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) about 105.

A government requires a majority of 126 seats. Vučić said the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians would get three seats, Albanian parties one, and the SDA probably one, and that no other list entered parliament. Final results have not yet been published, so those numbers are his estimate, not an official outcome.

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According to Euronews, the SNS has about 1.72 million votes and the Student List 2.2 million. Euronews also writes that it is too early to confirm which smaller parties passed the three percent threshold, but that this would not change the outcome. The State Election Commission said turnout by 18:00 was 64.9 percent, the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, according to Al Jazeera. More than 6.5 million citizens were eligible to vote.

Student List leader Ilija Srdanović said: “Tomorrow we begin working to build a state governed by the rule of law.” Candidate Radomir Saičić, a university professor, said tonight is for celebration and tomorrow is for building the future. According to Al Jazeera, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Belgrade, and the city prosecutor's office urged everyone to avoid violence.

There were also remarks about the voting itself. CRTA observers recorded pressure on voters or polling board members at almost a third of the 500 polling stations they monitored, as well as failures in protecting ballot secrecy. By 17:00 CeSID had received about 260 reports of possible irregularities, including photographing of ballots, group voting and difficulties with ID checks. These claims come from the observer organizations and are not established findings.

What came before? Vučić resigned as president in September to run for prime minister, and the student movement, according to reports, was born from the protests after the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad in 2024, in which 16 people died. The list is not a classic party and, according to Euronews, drew support beyond universities, among the urban middle class and opposition-minded voters.

What is not known? It is not known who will be prime minister, who will lead the presidency or what government formation will look like. The final vote share is not known, nor the exact number of seats, since Vučić spoke of an estimate. It is also not known what the SNS will do as an opposition.

What does it mean? If the result is confirmed, the SNS will move into opposition after more than a decade in power. The final results will show whether the Student List has a clear majority or will need a coalition.

MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 26, 2026