Serbia braces for tight vote as student opposition stages major Belgrade rally

Tens of thousands of people packed the center of Belgrade on Thursday for a final demonstration organized by a student-led opposition movement, mounting a major challenge to Aleksandar Vucic ahead of Serbia's parliamentary election on Sunday.

Marchers gathered in Slavija Square carrying whistles and banners to support the "Student List – Students Win" movement, which is attempting to remove Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party from power after more than 14 years. At the same time, Vucic hosted a competing campaign event at an indoor sports arena elsewhere in the capital.

The youth-led political bloc formed following almost two years of public unrest sparked by a tragedy in 2024, when a roof canopy collapsed at a newly modernized train terminal in Novi Sad, killing 16 people. The disaster, which critics linked to official corruption, fueled the largest wave of street demonstrations in Serbia since the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

Operating largely without traditional hierarchy, the student-backed coalition is fielding 250 candidates for parliament, including university scholars and civic figures with little prior political involvement. Their campaign focuses heavily on anti-corruption reforms. Addressing the Belgrade rally, academic and candidate Jugoslav Gasic declared that the movement would bring an end to more than a decade of mismanagement and self-serving governance, drawing chants of "Victory, victory!" from the crowd.

Vucic, who stepped down from the presidency in September to launch a bid for prime minister, called the snap parliamentary contest last month. Over the course of the campaign, he has dismissed the student uprising as an internationally orchestrated coup attempt. Speaking to his supporters on Thursday, he urged voters to deliver a decisive defeat to the opposition.

During the final stretch of campaigning, student organizers staged long-distance marches throughout the nation, venturing into conservative rural districts that have traditionally favored the ruling party. Although reliable polling data is sparse in Serbia, political analyst Dusan Vucicevic told AFP that the student coalition could secure over 40 percent of the ballots, an outcome that would surpass any opposition performance since 2012.

The tight contest has stoked concerns about potential unrest if results are contested. A coalition of 24 domestic civil society organizations stated earlier this week that the country lacks the necessary framework for a fair and free vote. Watchdog monitors have recorded over 100 violent episodes during the campaign period, and state prosecutors announced Wednesday that they had interrogated six individuals detained on suspicion of orchestrating riots and violent disruption on voting day.