Student List Seeks 40% as Serbia Votes Under Scrutiny
Polling data and monitoring reports indicate the Sunday parliamentary vote may not be free or fair.
By Jason Kovalenko ·
Serbia holds a parliamentary election on Sunday where polls suggest the Student List could take more than 40% of the vote, a result that would end the Serbian Progressive Party's control of government since 2012.
The campaign closed Thursday evening with rival rallies in Belgrade. Thousands gathered for the Student List finale, where biology student Arsa Stojanovic told the crowd that walkers crossing Serbia had visited villages and neighborhoods and found they could count on the people. Aleksandar Cupic, a transport engineering professor running with the list, said it "smells like freedom." A kilometer away, the SNS held its own rally with a message of stability and continuity.
The protests driving this campaign began after a concrete canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, killing 16 people. Student activists have framed the vote as a way to confront corruption and demand accountability for that disaster. Political scientist Dusan Spasojevic said these are the first elections since Aleksandar Vucic took power in 2012 that are competitive with an uncertain outcome.
The independent monitoring group CRTA reported the campaign has not been free or fair. By the final week, CRTA had logged 116 incidents of physical violence or verbal threats, including confrontations, attacks on campaigners and attempts to seize banners. The group also recorded surveillance and police questioning of opposition activists, particularly those linked to the Student List.
CRTA found almost three-quarters of national television airtime for political players went to government representatives. More than 80% of Student List coverage was negative. The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network published testimony from a former SNS member describing pressure on public-sector employees to deliver votes. Sources told DW that voters were offered between 30 and 150 euros, and in some cases holiday packages for families, to vote for SNS.
Authorities have warned for weeks that students, allegedly aided by foreign intelligence services, are preparing street violence, and several people have been arrested on suspicion of plotting election-night disturbances. Spasojevic said a narrow SNS victory would almost certainly be contested. An EU Commission spokesperson told DW that key recommendations on improving Serbia's electoral framework remain unimplemented. Serbia has been an EU candidate country since 2012.
The Student List has vowed to defend every vote.
