By Ivana Sekularac, Edward McAllister and Aleksandar Vasovic
BELGRADE, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in a historic election on Sunday that ends his long grip on power and heralds a new political era in the Balkan country.
The streets of Belgrade erupted in celebration after Vucic’s announcement, with cars honking and students shouting “victory” and “he’s done”.
The snap elections came after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024.
“Dear Serbia, tonight the voice of the people is being heard,” said Radomir Sajcic, a professor at Belgrade University speaking on behalf of the students at their headquarters. “Tonight we celebrate victory, tomorrow we build the future.”
Turnout in the election was nearly 70%, the highest since the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1992. Lines snaked from polling stations in cities and towns across Serbia on Sunday, in a sign of widespread desire for change.
“It is clear that we have lost these elections, the Student List has won, they will have between 135 and 140 seats and we will have 105, no one else has entered parliament,” Vucic said, basing his projection off preliminary results.
A representative sample by the CESID-IPSPS pollsters showed the student’s candidate list will have 138 deputies, while Vucic’s SNS party garnered 104 seats in the 250-seat parliament. Remaining seats will be shared between ethnic national minority parties.
“Unbelievable happiness and joy and we have finally got rid of this mafia. I am so happy I cannot speak,” said a woman named Tanja who was celebrating on the streets of Belgrade.
(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac and Edward McAllister; Editing by Kirsten Donovan )
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