From the streets to the ballot box: Serbia’s students hope for election win
Young Serbians have built a system that poses a threat to President Aleksandar Vucic’s grip on power.
A student-led movement has emerged as the most serious challenger to the long rule of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and its leader, Aleksandar Vucic, ahead of Sunday’s election.
Over the past two years, many citizens, teachers, professors and other experts have joined the students, a protest group that has evolved into a political movement: “Student List–Students Win” (Studentska lista–Studenti pobeđuju).
The catalyst came after the collapse of a concrete canopy at the renovated Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024. Sixteen people were killed in the tragedy, which triggered public outrage over alleged corruption and raised questions about construction safety, the quality of renovation work, and government oversight. Students who led protests have sought a fundamental overhaul of a system they deem rotten.
“Vucic is clearly afraid of us – it’s obvious. He knows that, for the first time in 16 years, the SNS is no longer the most popular political option in the country,” Golubovic said.