Serbia's election commission on Thursday formally certified the final results of the October 25 parliamentary election, confirming that the student-backed Student List won an outright majority of 140 seats in the 250-member National Assembly and clearing the way for a new parliament and government dominated by the movement that ended 14 years of rule by Aleksandar Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) adopted its overall report on the results at a session on November 5, establishing the final allocation of all 250 seats, according to the commission and wire reports. The Student List received 2,354,417 votes, while the list led by former president Vučić, "Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia", received 1,731,323 votes and 103 seats. The remaining seven seats went to parties representing national minorities.
The certification starts the constitutional clock on forming Serbia's next government. Parliament must hold its first session within 30 days of the proclamation of the final results — by December 5 — and a new government must then be elected within 90 days of parliament being constituted, or the assembly is dissolved and fresh elections are called.
What the final results say
The RIK report, compiled from results at 8,392 polling stations, including repeat voting at 53 polling stations on November 1, puts turnout at 4,444,310 of 6,451,292 registered voters. Of the ballots cast, 4,385,065 were valid and 56,571 invalid.
| Electoral list | Votes | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Student List – Students Win | 2,354,417 | 140 |
| Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia (SNS-led) | 1,731,323 | 103 |
| Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians | — | 2 |
| Albanian Coalition | — | 2 |
| Rasim Ljajić – Human (SDP–CDP) | — | 1 |
| SDA Sandžak – Guardians of Sandžak | — | 1 |
| Usame Zukorlić (SPP) – Movement for Unification | — | 1 |
The Student List's 140 seats comfortably exceed the 126 needed for an absolute majority, meaning it can form a government without coalition partners. The SNS, which had ruled Serbia almost unchallenged for 14 years, fell to 103 seats. Parties that failed to clear the threshold for seat allocation — including the Socialist Party of Serbia and its coalition partners — won no seats at all, according to the commission's report.
Complaints against the overall report can be filed with the commission within 72 hours of its publication, and the RIK must allocate the parliamentary mandates to candidates, in the order they appear on each list, within 10 days.
From protest to power
The result completes a transformation that began on November 1, 2024, when a renovated railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city, killing 16 people. The disaster, which many Serbs blamed on corruption in state infrastructure projects, triggered two years of student-led street protests, university blockades and daily marches.
How a protest became a party list. The student movement entered electoral politics through the Student List, whose candidates were mostly professors, teachers and other experts with little or no political experience — including its lead candidate, cardiologist and professor Ilija Srdanović. The list itself included none of the students who led the protests. Serbia votes as a single nationwide district under a party-list system, so seats are divided in proportion to each list's share of the national vote, provided it clears the 3% threshold.
Under sustained pressure from the protests, Vučić called a snap election, dissolving parliament on September 9, 2026. He then stepped down as president in late September to run as the lead prime ministerial candidate for the SNS-led list. When the votes were counted on October 25, the Student List won about 53% of the vote to the SNS list's roughly 39%, and Vučić conceded defeat — ending his party's parliamentary dominance.
The movement promised to restore the rule of law and end the corruption it said had flourished under Vučić, whose party has faced accusations of corruption, cronyism and organised-crime links, which it has denied.
What happens next
With the results now final, the process moves to parliament and the presidency. The first, constitutive session of the new National Assembly must be convened by the speaker of the outgoing parliament and held no later than 30 days after the proclamation of the results — December 5, if November 5 counts as the proclamation date. At that session, the mandates of at least two-thirds of the deputies must be confirmed for the assembly to be considered constituted.
Once parliament is constituted, the acting president — the new speaker — holds consultations with representatives of the electoral lists and proposes a prime minister-designate, who must present a programme and a cabinet to the assembly. The government must win a majority vote of all MPs — at least 126 — within 90 days of the assembly's constitution, or parliament is dissolved and new snap elections are called.
Serbia also faces a presidential election before the end of the year. Vučić's resignation as head of state in September means a vote for his successor must be held no later than December 27, 2026 — a second contest that will test whether the student movement's momentum extends beyond parliament.
A changing balance of power
Although the election winners have yet to take office, the shift in power is already visible. A series of detentions has followed the result, relating to suspected election fraud, attacks on student protesters and corruption. Those detained so far include senior police officials, a bank owner and the head of Serbia's meteorological institute, whom prosecutors suspect of money laundering.
On Wednesday evening, nine policemen were detained for alleged torture and harassment of protesting students last August. The suspects included the commander of an elite anti-terrorist unit, Igor Zmiric, according to the Associated Press.
Vučić has accused his opponents of a "revolutionary terror", even as his right-wing party still controls the outgoing government and the police.
Analysts caution that governing will be harder than winning. The Student List is a broad coalition whose members agree most clearly on what they opposed, and it must now hold together while navigating fault lines — including over Kosovo, where the list has said the territory is an integral part of Serbia and wants past EU-brokered agreements reviewed, and over relations with Russia, where it has promised European rule-of-law standards but no sanctions.
Why it matters beyond Serbia
The student movement's victory has resonated beyond Serbia's borders at a time when many European countries face youth-led protests. Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, but the accession process stalled under Vučić, who maintained close relations with Russia and China.
Whether the new government revives the EU path, and how it handles relations with Moscow and Beijing, will be watched closely in Brussels and across the Balkans. For now, the certified result gives the Student List something no protest movement in Serbia has held before: an outright parliamentary majority, and the responsibility that comes with it.
What is not yet decided. No prime minister-designate has been named, no cabinet has been proposed, and the date of the presidential election has not been set. The 72-hour window for complaints against the final results was still open when the RIK adopted its report. The figures in this article are the commission's final certified results; earlier preliminary reports gave slightly different vote shares.
Frequently asked questions
Who won Serbia's election?
The Student List, backed by the student protest movement, won 140 of 250 seats with 2,354,417 votes — an outright majority. The SNS-led list of former president Aleksandar Vučić won 103 seats with 1,731,323 votes.
When will the new government take office?
Parliament must hold its first session by December 5, 2026. A prime minister-designate must then be proposed and a government elected by a majority of MPs within 90 days of parliament being constituted, or new elections are called.
What triggered the student movement?
The collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people and which many Serbs blamed on corruption in state infrastructure projects. Students blockaded universities for more than a year before the movement entered electoral politics.
Is a presidential election also coming?
Yes. Vučić resigned as president in late September 2026 to lead his party's election list, so a presidential election must be held by December 27, 2026.
What did the Student List promise?
To restore the rule of law and end corruption. Its candidates were mostly academics, teachers and other experts with little political experience.
Key takeaways
- Serbia's election commission certified the final results on November 5: the Student List won 140 of 250 seats, an outright majority.
- Vučić's SNS fell to 103 seats after 14 years of near-unchallenged rule; the remaining seven seats went to minority parties.
- Parliament must convene by December 5, and a government must be elected within 90 days of its constitution.
- A presidential election must also be held by December 27, following Vučić's resignation as head of state.
- Detentions of police and officials linked to protest crackdowns and corruption have already begun, even before the new government takes office.
What to watch next: the allocation of mandates within 10 days, the convening of parliament's first session, the naming of a prime minister-designate — and the date of the presidential election, which will be the movement's next test.
