Serbia's Vučić resigns as president to run for prime minister
Rule Changes
The Student List has 140 of 250 seats and Serbia's Progressive Party 103, the electoral commission confirmed on Nov. 5. Parliament meets Nov. 17; Vučić says a government could follow within ten days, and his party may skip the presidential election due by Dec. 27.
Serbia's electoral commission certified the final results on Nov. 5: the Student List won 140 of 250 seats with 2,354,417 votes, and Vučić's list took 103 with 1,731,323. Turnout was 68.9%. The new parliament holds its first session on Nov. 17.
Vučić said the winners could form a government within ten days of that session. Dejan Šoškić, a former central bank governor on the Student List, said he would consider becoming prime minister if the students proposed it. SNS is leaning toward not fielding a presidential candidate in the vote due by Dec. 27. Prosecutors have ordered the detention of senior police officials, including the head of the criminal police, over old cases.
Why it matters
Vučić's defeat ends 14 years of his rule and gives Serbia's student movement its first chance to govern.
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Key Indicators
140
Student List seats (final)
Confirmed by the Republic Electoral Commission on Nov. 5. The majority threshold is 126.
103
Vučić list seats (final)
The list "Aleksandar Vučić, United Serbia" took 103 seats, with minority lists holding the remaining seven.
68.9%
Voter turnout
4,444,310 of 6,451,292 registered voters, according to the final electoral commission report.
27 events
Latest: 3 days ago
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November 2026
Inaugural parliamentary session set for Nov. 17
LatestTransition
Outgoing speaker Ana Brnabić scheduled the first session of the new assembly for 10 a.m. on Nov. 17. The agenda includes verifying mandates and electing a speaker and deputies.
Vučić says ten days enough to form a government
Statement
Vučić said the election winners could put a government together within about ten days of parliament convening. The Student List holds an absolute majority and does not need coalition partners.
Šoškić says he would consider premiership
Statement
Dejan Šoškić, a former National Bank of Serbia governor running on the Student List, told Newsmax Balkans he would consider the prime minister's job if the students proposed it through a democratic process. He said he was content as one of 250 candidate MPs.
Detentions, resignations and probes follow the election
Legal
Prosecutors ordered the detention of senior police officials, including criminal police chief Marko Kričak and anti-terror unit commander Igor Žmirić, and asked to question BIA head Vladimir Orlić. The Student List has urged prosecutors and judges to act on stalled corruption cases or resign.
Electoral commission certifies final results
Election
RIK adopted the final report on the Oct. 25 vote: Student List 140 seats and 2,354,417 votes, Vučić's list 103 seats and 1,731,323 votes, minority lists seven seats. Commissioner Ivan Šebek asked for an investigation into the Zukorlić list's gains in the Nov. 1 rerun; the commission rejected the implication of wrongdoing.
Rerun vote closes at 53 polling stations
Election
The repeat vote at 53 stations ended at 8 p.m. Of these, 31 had results that could not be determined and 22 had voting annulled. A total of 24,438 citizens were eligible to vote there.
With 8,338 of 8,392 polling stations counted, the Student List had 53.04% and the United Serbia list 38.97%. Final results wait for the rerun votes to be added.
CRTA reports vote buying on rerun day
Election
CRTA observers recorded vote buying, parallel voter lists and third parties at polling stations. The most serious case was an attempt to buy votes for the Zukorlić list in Aleksinac.
Zukorlić list claims enough rerun votes for a seat
Statement
SPP leader Usame Zukorlić said his list won more than 300 votes at the rerun stations, enough for a parliamentary mandate. The claim has not been confirmed by the commission.
SNS signals it may sit out the presidential election
Statement
Vučić said on TV Pink that there was no reason to take part in what he called a farce, according to European Western Balkans, which reported that the option was discussed at the party's national board. SNS has accused the Student List of "revolutionary terror."
October 2026
Electoral commission orders rerun at 53 polling stations
Election
RIK ordered a repeat vote on November 1 at 53 polling stations where results could not be determined or votes were annulled. The 24,438 eligible voters there cannot change a result in which the Student List leads by more than 582,000 votes.
Student List MPs demand resignations of security chiefs
Statement
Newly elected Student List MPs demanded the immediate dismissal of police officers who broke the law, naming the heads of the police, the BIA security agency and the anti-terror unit. RTS director Manja Grčić stepped down in the same week.
Student List asks prosecutors to reopen cases
Statement
At its first post-election news conference, the list asked prosecutors to act on the Novi Sad canopy collapse, the General Staff building and Sky ECC cases, and to review Expo, Belgrade Waterfront and other project finances. Officials named in its resignation demands had not responded immediately, per AP.
Votes from abroad give Student List 141 seats
Election
After votes cast abroad were counted, the Student List gained a seat, reaching 141, while United Serbia fell to 103. RIK member Ivan Šebek said voting would likely be repeated at about 50 polling stations.
Newly elected parliament includes dozens of academics
Election
Science magazine reports that dozens of academics won seats after the Student List's victory. The figure is Science's own count and has not been checked against an independent record.
With 8,187 of 8,392 polling stations processed, the commission put the Student List at 52.71% (2,267,615 votes) and the SNS-led list at 39.17%. Final results await objection and appeal deadlines.
Electoral commission announces preliminary count
Election
The Republic Election Commission (RIK) reported the Student List at 52.54%, with 8,077 of 8,392 polling stations processed. The United Serbia list, led by Vučić's party, had 39.29%.
Electoral commission updates count to 8,135 polling stations
Election
The commission's later update gave the Student List 52.65% (2,246,423 votes) and Vučić's list 39.22% (1,673,241 votes). Turnout was 68.78%.
Serbians vote in snap parliamentary election
Election
Voters formed long lines outside polling stations. Turnout was 68.8%, a record high in more than 30 years, per RIK data.
Student List wins election; Vučić concedes
Election
An Ipsos/CeSID projection gave the Student List 52.9% and 141 of 250 seats, clear of the 126 needed for a majority. Vučić said his party had lost and that the Student List had won.
Tens of thousands celebrate in Belgrade and other cities
Protest
Crowds gathered in Belgrade and other towns after Vučić conceded. The celebrations followed two years of anti-government protests.
September 2026
Vučić hands over presidential duties to Brnabić
Transition
Vučić formally hands the presidency to National Assembly speaker Ana Brnabić, who becomes acting president. The resignation took effect when the assembly received it; the presidential vote is due within three months.
Vučić resigns as president; Brnabić becomes acting president
Resignation
Vučić formally steps down, triggering a presidential election due by year's end. He pardons 49 people, including 23 tied to the protests. Ana Brnabić assumed the acting presidency the next day.
Parliament dissolved, snap election set for October 25
Election
Vučić signed a decree dissolving parliament and called the early vote, citing "major turbulence on the domestic political scene." The SNS main board had nominated him as its prime minister candidate four days earlier.
June 2026
Vučić announces he will resign as president
Statement
At a Belgrade rally, Vučić declares he will step down to lead his party's election campaign. He waits three months before formally resigning.
December 2024
Student-led protests grow into sustained campaign
Protest
Students in Belgrade and other cities begin daily protests demanding accountability. Demonstrations at times draw hundreds of thousands, the largest since the fall of Slobodan Milošević in 2000.
November 2024
Train station canopy collapse kills 16 in Novi Sad
Tragedy
A concrete canopy at Novi Sad's railway station collapses, killing 16. The disaster is widely blamed on corruption and shoddy renovation work.
Scenarios
1
SNS wins October vote, Vučić becomes prime minister
Deadline passed (Oct 25, 2026)
Discussed by: Polls cited by Euractiv show SNS among the two strongest forces; the party has governed since 2012
Preliminary results put SNS second, at about 39% and an estimated 104 seats, and Vučić has conceded. This path is now unlikely. The shift keeps him at the center of Serbian politics, though the protests may continue and international pressure over democratic backsliding remains.
2
Student List wins the election, ending SNS rule
Deadline passed (Oct 25, 2026)
Discussed by: Euractiv notes different surveys point to different potential winners; National Post calls Student List one of SNS's strongest adversaries ever
The student movement converts protest energy into seats, becomes the largest or second-largest force, and forms a government with opposition parties. Vučić's 14-year run ends and power shifts to new figures promising institutional reform and anti-corruption measures.
3
Opposition candidate wins the December presidential election
Uncertain
Resolves by End of 2026
Discussed by: Euractiv reports the presidential race is uncertain with candidates not yet announced
Even if SNS wins the parliament, a non-SNS presidential candidate could take the December vote. That would create a divided government where the president's powers over policy and appointments could check Vučić as prime minister. The race remains wide open since no major candidates have formally entered.
4
Student List-led government takes office
Likely
Resolves by End of 2026
Discussed by: Reuters and BBC, citing election projections and the list's 11-point programme
The Student List has a projected 141 seats, enough to govern without SNS. The list has not named a prime minister. Ilija Srdanović, its top candidate, is seen as the most likely pick. Its programme calls for a police unit to arrest corruption suspects, a purge of officials who broke rules on protest policing, and reform of the public broadcaster.
5
SNS skips the presidential election
Possible
Resolves by Nov 27, 2026
Discussed by: Vučić on TV Pink; European Western Balkans, citing the party's national board
SNS stays out of the presidential race due by Dec. 27, arguing that conditions for a fair vote do not exist. That would leave the field largely to a Student List-backed candidate, after the party already lost the parliamentary election.
Historical Context
2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 2
May 2008 – May 2012
Putin–Medvedev tandem (2008–2012)
Vladimir Putin, completing his second presidential term and barred from a third, stepped down and became prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally. Medvedev then signed constitutional changes lengthening the presidential term to six years, and Putin returned as president in 2012.
Then
Putin retained effective power as prime minister while Medvedev held the presidency.
Now
The office swap became a template for leaders managing term limits in post-Soviet states.
Why this matters now
Bloomberg explicitly compares Vučić's move to Putin's. Both leaders switched from president to prime minister to stay at the center of power without violating term limits.
2 of 2
November 1996 – February 1997
Serbian student protests (1996–1997)
After Slobodan Milošević's government annulled opposition local election victories in November 1996, students in Belgrade and other cities held months of daily street protests. Demonstrations drew hundreds of thousands at their peak.
Then
Milošević was forced to recognize opposition victories in local elections, ending the protests.
Now
The movement showed sustained student protest could force concessions from an autocratic leader, and helped lay groundwork for the 2000 uprising that ended Milošević's rule.
Why this matters now
Serbian students have a track record of challenging entrenched leaders. The current Student List movement draws directly on that tradition in its challenge to Vučić.
