Serbian Students Celebrate as Vucic Concedes Defeat in Parliamentary Election

Tens of thousands of people filled the main boulevards of Belgrade on Sunday night, halting trams and traffic. Smoke hung in the air, and one man stood on a car waving a flare. The scenes resembled the street demonstrations that have unfolded across European cities over the past month, but the mood in the Serbian capital was entirely different.

The crowds were not protesting. They were celebrating after President Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat to a student-backed list of candidates in parliamentary elections.

The result is the culmination of a two-year peaceful protest movement. Its participants demanded that Vucic step down and called for an end to what they describe as rampant corruption in the Balkan country. Vucic denies the charge.

The outcome marks a profound political shift in a country of about 6 million people. It also shows how much influence younger people can wield when they manage to channel widespread discontent into political action.

"That is the best thing that happened in my life. We will now breathe freely," said Milica, a law student.

Vucic had governed as either prime minister or president since 2014. His time in power included a period of strong economic growth. But opposition grew, led by students, after a railway station awning collapsed in November 2024 and killed 16 people.

The task ahead is considerable. The loose group of 250 student-backed candidates now has to shift from campaigning to governing. For Sunday evening, though, the focus was on celebration.

At their headquarters, the candidates, many of them little known and drawn from backgrounds as lawyers, professors, actors and farmers, hugged and cheered in near disbelief at what they had achieved.

Out on the street, Nebojsa Cosic waved a flag and shouted: "The people have won! The people defeated a dictator! The people will lead Serbia!"