Key Facts
- Verdict: Observers from the OSCE, Council of Europe and European Parliament saw high turnout but a campaign tilted toward the outgoing ruling party.
- Voting day: Observers rated voting positively at 96% of stations visited, but reported violence and family voting.
- Count: Still preliminary: observers noted procedural gaps and mismatched result records, and final findings come later.
- Next: Serbia’s electoral commission (RIK) has published a preliminary count but not yet the final result.
- Prediction markets: Polymarket, a crypto betting market, priced 97.6% that the student-backed Student List took 50% or more (1:10 p.m. ET, 26 Oct).
Published Monday, 26 October, 1:25 p.m. ET · Source: ODIHR, the OSCE’s election-monitoring office, and partner observer missionsSerbia’s students came out on top in the preliminary count, and on Monday the outside referees said the contest was real but the playing field was not level.International observers called turnout high and the count largely sound, yet they described a campaign tilted toward the outgoing ruling party.The verdict follows Aleksandar Vučić, the former president who led Serbia for more than a decade, saying on Sunday night that his list had lost.
The students’ Student List, a citizens’ group born of protests, leads the preliminary count. Our count coverage and our explainer on what happens next have the political picture.
Who Said This, and How Strong Is It?
Four bodies issued the statement together: the OSCE’s election office (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly and the European Parliament. The OSCE is a security organisation whose monitors are the standard international yardstick for elections in Europe.
Gilles Baum of Luxembourg led the OSCE short-term observers, and Piero Fassino of Italy led the Council of Europe delegation. Andreas Schieder of Austria headed the European Parliament team, and Eoghan Murphy heads ODIHR’s election observation mission.
Why Was the Campaign Called Uneven?
Observers said the outgoing ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Vučić’s party, enjoyed entrenched advantages, including misuse of state resources. They pointed to nearly one billion euros (about US$1.1 billion at 1.12 dollars per euro) of financial benefits announced before and during the campaign, which blurred the line between state and party.
They also cited intimidation and pressure on voters, candidates and civil society, and allegations of vote-buying. Contestants could still campaign vigorously, the observers added.
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How Did the Media Treat the Two Sides?
ODIHR’s media monitoring found that RTS (Radio Television of Serbia), the state broadcaster, favoured “United Serbia”, the Vučić-led list, and singled out the “Student List” for negative treatment. National private channels did the same, and TV Informer, a pro-government channel, showed what observers called pronounced hostility.
Online, observers saw inflammatory rhetoric, coordinated fake activity and AI-generated disinformation. They said unresolved reports of illegal digital surveillance, including alleged use of Pegasus, a commercial phone-spyware tool, deepened public distrust of the security services.
What Went Right on Election Day?
Observers rated voting positively at 96% of the polling stations they visited, and they judged counting and tabulation positively in the vast majority. Citizen observers were present at nearly half of the stations observed, which added scrutiny.
The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), which runs the vote, generally worked transparently and on time. Observers did question how political affiliations of its members shaped contested decisions.
What Went Wrong?
Reported incidents of physical violence, including against polling staff, citizen observers and journalists, raised serious concern. Observers also found a statistically significant number of cases of group or family voting, weak protection of ballot secrecy and signs of pressure outside some stations.
Voters with physical disabilities lacked independent access at 61% of stations observed. Distrust in the voter register persisted, as the authorities gave no substantive public explanation for reported discrepancies.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, a Student List vote share of 50% or more traded at 97.6% at 1:10 p.m. ET on 26 October. The event covering all vote-share brackets has drawn US$114,311 in total trading.
Prices are bets, not polls, and this one tracks the vote count rather than the observers’ verdict.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for You
For anyone with money or plans in the Balkans, a vote that was competitive but tilted means the incoming government will face pressure to fix the rules before the next election.The observers said significant recommendations from ODIHR and the Council of Europe’s legal-advice body, the Venice Commission, remain unaddressed.These include limits on misuse of state resources, journalists’ safety and media oversight.
What Is Not Known
This is a preliminary statement, and the mission’s final report, with detailed recommendations, comes later. RIK has published a preliminary count, but the final official result is still pending.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did international observers call Serbia’s election free and fair?
They did not use that phrase. They found high turnout, vigorous competition and mostly positive voting and counting, but a campaign with seriously compromised equal opportunities.
Who are the observers?
The mission combines ODIHR, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly and the European Parliament. Their statement is preliminary, and a final report follows.
Sources: ODIHR, “Serbia, Early Parliamentary Elections, 25 October 2026: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions” (26 October 2026); Polymarket; RT (EUR/USD).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief