Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat in Serbia’s snap parliamentary election to a student-led movement, with preliminary results pointing to an end to his Serbian Progressive Party’s rule since 2012.

With 97% of polling stations counted, the election commission put the Student List on 52.6% of the vote, or 2.24 million votes, against 39.2% and 1.67 million for Vučić’s party, known as the SNS.
“It is clear we have lost these elections,” he said.
Crowds celebrated in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities.

The result marks a breakthrough for a movement formed less than two years ago after a station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people.
The disaster, blamed on corruption and negligence, triggered protests that drew anti-government support across Serbia.
Vučić and the SNS have repeatedly denied corruption.

Rather than standing only students, the movement recruited doctors, actors, academics and sports personalities as candidates for the 250-member parliament.
Its manifesto promised action against officials who broke rules in dealing with protesters, an end to party loyalists running public enterprises, and freedom from political control for the public broadcaster.

Lead candidate Ilija Srdanović told BBC Serbian: “This will be a free state.”
He said the movement hoped to “free the country from tyranny”.
University of Belgrade political scientist Nebojša Vladisavljević described the result as the removal of an “authoritarian regime” and said the Student List had “absolute legitimacy” to govern.
Those are assessments of the result; the commission’s figures remain preliminary.

Vučić, having served two presidential terms and being unable to seek a third, had sought to return as prime minister, a post he left in 2017.
His campaign promised higher pensions and public sector salaries, alongside investment in state healthcare.

The change also raises questions about Serbia’s international direction.
Vučić supported European Union membership while refusing sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said the EU’s door was open.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised Vučić’s contribution to relations and urged the incoming political force to recognise the value of co-operation with Moscow.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar welcomed the defeat, saying Student List leaders had drawn strength from his own election victory.

Who will become prime minister remains unresolved.
Presidential elections are due in December, with parliamentary speaker Ana Brnabić serving as caretaker president.