Aleksandar Vucic, who resigned as Serbia’s president in September to run for prime minister, conceded defeat on Sunday, saying the student-backed Students’ List had won the early parliamentary election.
The seat counts announced so far come from Vucic himself. The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) had not published an official count when he spoke, and no independent projection had been released.
Vucic announced the outcome about 1.5 hours after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time, or 10 p.m. EAT, the Associated Press reported. “It is clear that we have lost these elections,” he said, according to Al Jazeera.
The vote and the concession
Serbia voted on Sunday for the 250-seat National Assembly, with 18 lists on the ballot, Al Jazeera reported. A majority requires 126 seats. Al Jazeera put the number of eligible voters at about 6.5 million, while NBC, citing AP, said about 6.4 million.
Turnout stood at 64.9% at 6 p.m. local time, the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia, Al Jazeera said. Final turnout had not been announced.
“The Students’ List has won,” Vucic said, NBC reported, citing AP. He blamed independent media, unnamed European countries and an “American deep state,” the report said.
The Students’ List fielded no students on its ballot, NBC reported. Its candidates are experts, athletes, farmers and artists.
Vucic had been president since 2017. He resigned on Sept. 27 to run for prime minister, European Western Balkans reported.
Why the seat figures are not yet final
Vucic’s concession is on the record. His seat and vote numbers are a different kind of claim: they come from one party, they were given before any official count, and they can change.
Citing a sample of votes, Vucic put the Students’ List at 135 to 140 seats and his SNS-led list at about 105, Euronews reported. He also claimed about 2.2 million votes for the Students’ List and about 1.7 million for SNS, NBC reported, citing AP. Euronews gave about 2.2 million and 1.72 million.
Vucic also said the Hungarian minority party SVM won three seats and the Albanians one, and that he believed the SDA had secured a seat, according to Euronews. He said no other party entered parliament. None of these figures has been confirmed by the electoral commission.
The table shows the figures and who supplied them. All seat and vote numbers are Vucic’s, as reported by Euronews and NBC.
| Item | Figure | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students’ List seats | 135-140 | Vucic via Euronews | Unconfirmed |
| SNS-led list seats | About 105 | Vucic via Euronews | Unconfirmed |
| Students’ List votes | About 2.2 million | Vucic via NBC/AP | Unconfirmed |
| SNS votes | About 1.7 million | Vucic via NBC/AP | Unconfirmed |
| Seats needed for majority | 126 of 250 | Al Jazeera | Reported |
What monitors reported
Election monitors reported problems during voting, Al Jazeera said. CRTA found pressure on voters or election workers at almost a third of the 500 polling stations it monitored, and CeSID logged about 260 reports of possible irregularities by 5 p.m. The reported problems included photographing ballots, group voting and identity checks.
Before the vote, the EU mission said it was concerned by several reported incidents of violence, AP reported on Oct. 15. PACE cited a polarized campaign, hostile rhetoric against journalists and civil society, surveillance allegations and concerns about the voter list.
ODIHR’s interim report said some priority recommendations made in 2023 had not been acted on, covering voter intimidation, the safety of journalists, the accuracy of the voter roll and the media regulator, according to the same AP report. ODIHR said it published a preliminary findings statement on Monday.
Reaction
I have been waiting for this moment for two years.
Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the Novi Sad victims, speaking to N1, as reported by AP via NBCEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU stands ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom and anti-corruption, Al Jazeera reported. NBC, citing AP, noted that the result follows Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungary after 16 years in power.
From Novi Sad to the vote
The dates below come from Al Jazeera, NBC, La Nacion/AP and European Western Balkans.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Nov. 1, 2024 | A concrete canopy at Novi Sad railway station collapsed, killing 16 people |
| After the collapse | Protest movement began; protesters blamed high-level corruption, which Vucic and SNS deny |
| Sept. 27, 2026 | Vucic resigned as president to run for prime minister |
| Oct. 15, 2026 | AP reported interim findings from EU, PACE and ODIHR monitors raising concerns |
| Oct. 25, 2026 | Polls closed at 8 p.m. (10 p.m. EAT); Vucic conceded about 1.5 hours later |
| Oct. 26, 2026 | ODIHR said it published a preliminary findings statement |
What happens next
The electoral commission’s official count will show whether Vucic’s projection holds. The Students’ List has not confirmed its candidate for prime minister, and no date has been announced for the first session of the new National Assembly. It has not been reported whether Vucic will remain leader of the SNS.
