This profile mirrors and is kept in sync with the Serbia entry in the main guide's case studies.
Overview
The collapse of a renovated railway canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed at least fourteen people, triggered the country's largest sustained protest movement in decades. Nearly two years later, the student-led "Student List" — first-time candidates from outside politics, backed by established opposition parties — won a parliamentary majority in an October 25, 2026 snap election, prompting Aleksandar Vučić, in power since 2012, to concede defeat amid turnout the highest since Yugoslavia's breakup. Preliminary results gave the Student List 139 of 250 seats, enough to govern alone, though as of late October no single leader had emerged and the movement has up to 90 days to form a government once official results are confirmed.
Vučić added a parallel maneuver to the race: barred by the constitution from seeking a third presidential term, with his second due to expire in May 2027, he resigned the presidency on September 27, 2026 to run for prime minister instead, installing parliament speaker Ana Brnabić as acting president in his place. The maneuver did not save his bid for the premiership either: the Student List's win leaves Serbia owing itself a presidential election of its own, which the constitution requires be held by the end of 2026, with Brnabić serving in a largely ceremonial caretaker capacity until then.
Analytical lens
Concepts on this wiki that help explain this case: Competitive Authoritarianism, Democratic Backsliding and Executive Aggrandizement.