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Vučić concedes defeat in Serbia: Student list heads for 138 seats and an absolute majority
After 12 years in power, the Serbian president said on RTS that “it is clear that we lost these elections”; according to CeSID, the student list wins 52.1% and his coalition 39.3%.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 25, 2026, 21:45 · Updated 18:40 · 1 min read
In brief
- Vučić said the students will have 135 to 140 seats, while his list will have about 105.
- CeSID’s projection gives 52.1% to the students and 39.3% to the “Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia Is United” list, with 138 seats against 104.
- The results are preliminary and await confirmation by the Republic Electoral Commission.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Sunday evening conceded defeat in the snap parliamentary elections, after polling stations closed at 8 p.m. In a live appearance on RTS, he said that, based on the stratified sample, “it is clear that we lost these elections.”
The first figures
According to Vučić, the list of the students, whom he continued to call “blockaders,” will win 135 to 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, while his own list will get about 105. He put the students’ votes at about 2.2 million and his list’s at about 1.72 million, stressing that the figures are not final.
The preliminary CeSID and Ipsos projection gives the “Students Win” list 52.1% of the vote and 138 seats, an absolute majority, and Vučić’s list 39.3% and 104 seats. The monitoring group CRTA, according to ATSH (the Albanian Telegraphic Agency), estimated 51.5% for the students and 40.4% for the SNS, adding that no other party appears to clear the 3% threshold.
End of an era
The elections followed nearly two years of anti-government protests, which began after the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, killing 16 people. With a majority of 135 to 140 seats, the student-led opposition could form a government without coalition partners.
After the concession, celebrations with flares broke out in Belgrade. U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson congratulated citizens and students on X. The results remain preliminary until confirmed by the Republic Electoral Commission.
