Early turnout in Serbia's snap election more than doubles the 2023 level

Long queues formed outside polling stations in Belgrade and Novi Sad before the doors opened at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, as Serbia voted in a snap parliamentary election. By 9:00 a.m., turnout was estimated at 12%, according to the monitoring groups Ipsos and CeSID (the Center for Free Elections and Democracy). The estimate rests on 94% of sampled stations. At the same hour in the December 2023 parliamentary election, CeSID and Ipsos recorded turnout of 5.2%, according to Deutsche Welle.

The vote follows Aleksandar Vučić's decisions to accept the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) nomination on 5 September to head its list as candidate for prime minister, to dissolve parliament on 9 September and to resign as president on 27 September. The constitution bars him from a third consecutive presidential term. Vučić, 56, has dominated Serbian politics since 2012. Polls close at 8:00 p.m. Projections are expected around 10:00 p.m. The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) is not expected to release official tallies before Monday, AP reported, and under Serbian election law results must be published within 96 hours of voting ending.

From a collapsed canopy to a ballot list

The challenge began with a disaster. On 1 November 2024, the concrete canopy of the recently renovated Novi Sad railway station collapsed and killed 16 people. The reconstruction, which involved Chinese state contractors, had been promoted as a showpiece of Vučić's modernisation drive. Public anger centred on alleged corruption, cronyism and weak oversight.

University students then led protests, occupations, blockades and marches for nearly two years. Protesters faced tear gas and detentions. They also alleged surveillance, including wiretapping and the use of a sound weapon on 15 March 2025. In May 2025 students demanded snap elections. In 2026 they built an electoral vehicle.

That vehicle is the Student List, "Students Win", headed on the ballot by cardiologist Dr Ilija Srdanović, although the movement says it has no leader. None of the student organisers is on the ballot. Its 250 candidates were chosen at open university plenums and include doctors, academics, actors, engineers and farmers. Its slogan is "Serbia or the mafia."

Vučić campaigned on highways, rail, hospitals, higher pensions and public wages, and subsidies for young families. He accuses the movement of being a foreign-funded "color revolution" backed by intelligence services in Croatia and Montenegro.

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What happens after 8 p.m.

The first projections will show whether the early queues translated into a lasting surge. A narrow result would put the count itself under scrutiny. ACLED (the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project) has warned of rising political violence. Vučić has pledged to "immediately quash" demonstrations over disputed fraud claims. A close finish would therefore test both the electoral commission and the police.

The outcome also matters beyond Serbia. Vučić has balanced Brussels, Beijing, Washington and Moscow, keeping EU candidate status while refusing sanctions on Russia and securing Chinese infrastructure deals. Brussels' patience has been strained by concerns over judicial independence and the rule of law. Student movements are active elsewhere in the Western Balkans too. In Albania, police used rubber pellets on protesters in Tirana on 17 October.

The Student List's foreign policy is cautious. It signed a memorandum calling Kosovo an "inalienable part of Serbia" and does not advocate sanctions on Moscow.