Europe | 26 October 2026
The story in brief
Serbia held a national election on 25 October.
Aleksandar Vučić, the ruling party's candidate for prime minister, has said his party lost.
A student-led group called the Student List is expected to win.
Official results have not been confirmed yet.
Who is involved?
- Student List: A political group led by students who have protested for change in Serbia.
- Aleksandar Vučić: Serbia's former president. He was the ruling party's candidate to become prime minister.
What happened?
On election night, Vučić said early counts showed the Student List winning between 135 and 140 seats in parliament.
He said his party would win about 105 seats.
Parliament is where elected representatives make a country's laws.
What is the background?
Serbia is a country in southeastern Europe.
In 2024, part of a train station roof collapsed in the city of Novi Sad.
Sixteen people died.
Students began protesting against what they saw as corruption.
Corruption means people in power acting dishonestly.
The students also said the government was becoming too controlling.
The protests continued for almost two years and gained wide support.
In September, Vučić called an early election.
Why does it matter?
Vučić became prime minister in 2014 and president in 2017.
The student movement has become the biggest challenge to his power since then.
What happens next?
The official election results still need to be confirmed.
They will show exactly how many seats each group has won.
Source: Reuters, 25 October 2026