Student movement challenges ruling party in upcoming Serbian elections

A leaderless youth group called Student List is preparing to challenge the governing party in Serbia in parliamentary elections this Sunday. According to the Guardian, the movement is confronting Aleksandar Vučić and his 12-year domination of Serbian politics. The Guardian describes Vučić as a former henchman of Slobodan Milošević. [1][6][7]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, about 150,000 supporters of the Student List movement gathered in central Belgrade for an election rally on Thursday. Protests originally began in November 2024 following the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. The Guardian added that the group grew out of fury surrounding the deadly collapse. [1][6][7]

By March 2025, student-led protests had spread to 400 cities and towns across Serbia, as FTMQ News reported earlier. The movement has now taken its campaign directly to the upcoming vote. The Guardian noted that the campaign comes amid broader youth-led protests across Europe driven by housing affordability, the cost of living, and education standards. [1][7]

The upcoming vote follows political shifts in the country. Aleksandar Vučić resigned as president on September 27 to campaign for prime minister in the early elections, as FTMQ News reported earlier. Sunday's vote will determine whether the opposition student group can end the rule of the Serbian Progressive party. [6]