Serbia votes on Sunday as a mass student protest movement that has gripped the Balkan country for two years seeks to end the rule of long-time leader Aleksandar Vucic and his party.
Polls suggest a tight race between Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the newly formed, youth-backed Students’ List.
The vote comes after almost two years of student-led protests following the deadly collapse of a train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad in 2024.
Demonstrations demanding accountability have since snowballed into Serbia’s largest movement since the fall of strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
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Vucic faces tough election challenge
After calling snap elections last month, Vucic, who has dominated Serbian politics for more than a decade, stepped down as president to run for prime minister.
The Students’ List is aiming to end 14 years of rule by Vucic’s right-wing populist SNS in Sunday’s vote.
The student movement hopes to replicate Peter Magyar’s victory in Hungary in April, when he defeated Vucic’s ally, Viktor Orban.
Polling stations open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT).
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Edited by: Natalie Muller
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