Student movement defeats Serbia’s long-time ruling party

Serbia’ long-standing leader Aleksandar Vucic has admitted defeat to a student-led protest movement in snap parliamentary elections. Celebrations erupted as crowds descended on the centre of Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities. The student movement was formed less than two years ago in response to a railway station disaster blamed on corruption and negligence, but fought the election with candidates from a cross-section of Serbian society. “It is clear we have lost these elections,” right-wing populist leader Vucic says as he conceded. With 97% of polling stations counted, Serbia’s election commission says the students had won 2. 25 million votes and the former ruling party 1. 67 million. The students had secured 52. 7% of the vote, while Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) was on 39. 2%, according to its preliminary figures late on Monday morning.

Vucic had spent two terms as president and could not seek a third term, so he was leading his SNS party with the aim of returning to the post of prime minister, which he left in 2017. He called the snap elections after two years of protests triggered by the collapse of a canopy in front of Novi Sad station which killed 16 people. The Student List’s lead candidate Ilija Srdanovic tells BBC Serbian: “This will be a free state. ” He says the anti-corruption movement, which had attracted anti-government voters across Serbia, hoped to “free the country from tyranny”. There were celebrations on the streets of the city, with people dancing and chanting “victory”, cars honking, and fireworks set off. “Serbia is free,” one student tells the BBC. “It’s a miracle. ” Vucic made his announcement at the headquarters of his SNS party in the capital, Belgrade. The centre of Novi Sad – the northern city that triggered the student-led protests…