Serbian Students Challenge Ruling Party Ahead of Snap Election

Thousands of students and supporters gathered in Belgrade on Wednesday, October 21, as a nationwide protest movement prepared for a final rally ahead of Serbia's snap parliamentary elections this weekend. Students arriving from across the country marched through the capital, drawing cheering crowds as they sought to challenge the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) after two years of demonstrations.

According to Euronews, demonstrators carried Serbian flags, lit torches, sang songs and displayed banners supporting the student movement. Some signs declared "Students win!", while another featured a crossed-out image resembling former president Aleksandar Vučić.

The election marks a major test for Student List, a movement that emerged from protests over government accountability and has developed into a political force fielding 250 candidates. The Guardian reported that the campaign represents the most serious electoral challenge Vučić has faced during his 12 increasingly authoritarian years in power.

Vučić stepped down as president in September, five months before the end of his second and final constitutionally permitted term, but intends to retain power as prime minister while leading the SNS, according to The Guardian.

Student organizers have sought to mobilize voters through grassroots campaigning rather than relying on traditional party structures. Volunteers canvassed residential neighborhoods, recorded voter responses through a mobile application and encouraged residents to identify the country's most pressing problems.

Corruption emerged as a frequent complaint during these conversations, The Guardian reported. Residents also raised concerns about deteriorating infrastructure, including a poorly maintained bridge connecting the Belgrade suburb of Krnjača with the city center and a sewage system that repeatedly fails during heavy rain.

The movement's campaign slogan, "Serbia or Mafia?", reflects public concerns about alleged connections between the SNS and organized crime. The government denies the accusations and says it is working to combat organized crime.

The protests began after a concrete canopy collapsed at Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people. Evidence pointed to faulty modifications during refurbishment work, but The Guardian reported that authorities had not issued an official finding on the cause and no official had been held accountable.

Three weeks after the disaster, students in Belgrade blocked a road during a vigil for the victims. Protesters were attacked by a group associated with the SNS, according to The Guardian, and demonstrations subsequently spread nationwide.

Initially, students distanced themselves from established opposition parties and avoided appointing conventional leaders. Their collective structure also limited the number of individuals the government could single out in its political attacks.

Polling has produced conflicting indications of the movement's electoral strength. A July survey by the Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) and Stanford University found support for the students at 45%, compared with 36% for the SNS, although the survey preceded Vučić's September resignation announcement and the intensification of the ruling party's campaign.

More recent domestic polls have placed the SNS ahead, according to The Guardian, although opposition figures question the independence of the pollsters behind those surveys. The variation has left the likely outcome uncertain ahead of the parliamentary vote.

CRTA programme director Raša Nedeljkov described the challenge facing the movement within Serbia's political system.

"Serbia has been an electoral autocracy and in electoral autocracies only ruling political parties can win," said Raša Nedeljkov, CRTA's programme director.

Nedeljkov also pointed to changes in the government's political position as the student campaign gained momentum.

"What we are seeing in the past days, weeks, months, is that strength; the homogeneous government that Vučić used to have is no longer there. He is faced with a completely unorthodox political actor and the toolbox that he has"

Vučić has intensified his media appearances during the campaign. According to The Guardian, he made 129 live television appearances in August, more than four times the previous month's total, as the student movement prepared to contest the parliamentary election.