Serbia Votes Sunday After Student Protests
Updated 1 time · Latest: 25 October 2026
Key Facts
- What: Serbia holds an early parliamentary election after almost two years of student-led protests.
- When: Sunday, 25 October 2026. Polls closed at 20:00 Central European Time (3:00 p.m. ET).
- Who: Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) faces the student-backed “Students Win” list.
- Why it matters: Vučić’s SNS has been in power since 2012 and faces a vote shaped by the protests.
- Prediction markets: Kalshi, a US-regulated prediction market, prices the SNS-led list at 58% and the student list at 43% to win (25 October 2026, 4:08 p.m. ET).
In plain English
Serbia voted early on Sunday after almost two years of student-led protests. The long-ruling party of Aleksandar Vučić (the former president) faced a list backed by the protest movement. Polls closed at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Serbia voted in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday, 25 October 2026, after nearly two years of student-led street protests. Polling stations closed at 20:00 Central European Time (3:00 p.m. ET). The Republic Election Commission (RIK), Serbia’s election authority, runs the count. This is the latest chapter in our Europe political crisis series, which explains why Europe’s politics are breaking country by country.
Live updates: Serbia parliamentary election (early, National Assembly), every story as it happens →
The vote is the first national test of whether a protest movement can turn into votes. Former president Aleksandar Vučić resigned on 27 September to run for prime minister.
Latest Developments
Our live Serbia election page collects every report from election day. Among them are the turnout report, the care home incident at a polling station, the European Union envoy’s warning and Vučić’s pledge on accepting the result.
- Serbia’s Students Celebrate Win in Belgrade
Thousands celebrated in Belgrade and Novi Sad as Serbia’s Student List led Vučić’s ticket 52.73% to 39.15%; no final result is declared yet.
- Serbia’s Students Lead by 584,000 Votes
With 8,181 of 8,392 stations counted, Serbia’s Student List leads Vučić’s ruling list 52.73% to 39.15%; no final result yet.
- Serbia Vote Was Uneven, Observers Say
International observers praised Serbia’s high turnout and count but said state resources, media bias and pressure tilted the campaign.
- Serbia’s Student List Holds 52% in Count
RIK counted 7,926 polling stations: the protest-born Student List leads Vučić’s ruling list 52.19% to 39.52%, with the final result still to come.
- Serbia’s Students Lead. Now What?
Serbia’s students refused to be a party, and projections now give them 52%. Who they are, what they want and what they have not yet said.
- Serbia’s Socialists Miss Parliament Cutoff
Serbia’s Socialists, long-time partners of the ruling camp, fell below the 3% entry threshold on 25 October, and leader Ivica Dačić conceded defeat.
What Happened
The protests began after a concrete canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad railway station on 1 November 2024, killing 16 people. Protesters blamed corruption and demanded accountability for the disaster.
Vučić, who cannot run for another presidential term, resigned as president on 27 September 2026 and plans to lead the SNS ticket as its candidate for prime minister. Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić is acting president, according to Al Jazeera.
Who Is Running
The Republic Election Commission (RIK) registered the “Student List – Students Win” for the vote, with 250 candidates, according to N1. The list is led by Ilija Srđanović and includes professors and other experts.
Some polls suggest the student list could threaten the SNS, but their methods are hard to verify independently, so we do not quote a single figure.
What Prediction Markets Say
- Serbian parliamentary election winner: SNS-led list 58%, student list 43% (Kalshi, 4:08 p.m. ET on 25 October 2026). The two prices add up to more than 100% because each is a separate bet.
- Prime minister after the election: Vučić 56%, Ilija Srđanović, the student list’s leading candidate, 41% (Kalshi, same time).
- Winner of the parliamentary election: the list Polymarket labels “Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia” 60.5% (Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, about US$8.6 million traded, same time).
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.
Kalshi is regulated in the US by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Prices are bets, not polls.
Prediction markets · live
Implied chances from traders’ prices. Prices are bets, not polls.
Kalshi: parliamentary election winner
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC): 143,896 contracts traded.
Kalshi: prime minister after the election
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC): 37,787 contracts traded.
Kalshi: Student List vote share
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC): 21,175 contracts traded.
Kalshi: voter turnout
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC): 12,799 contracts traded.
As of Tuesday, 27 October, 5:47 a.m. ET, updated every 20 minutes.
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.
Europe’s Wider Protest Wave
In Albania, student-led protests have run for about a week, with demonstrators demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation. In Greece, teachers and students rallied on 21 October demanding more education funding.
In France, a new Yellow Vest protest is called for Saturday, 24 October, after weekend rioting. In Italy, the government said it would send 500 soldiers to Milan, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini announced on 19 October.
In Spain, a snap election is scheduled for 29 November 2026 after parliament failed to pass housing measures. Reporting stresses that these movements are largely separate, not centrally coordinated.
What It Means for US Readers
Serbia’s result will show whether sustained street protest can unseat a long-serving government at the ballot box. A student win would be read across Europe, where governments face anger over living costs and public services.
A strong SNS result would show that protest alone has limits. Either way, Serbia’s ties with Brussels, Moscow and Washington will be watched.
What Is Not Known
We have not confirmed official results or final turnout. It is also unclear how large the gap between the two main lists really is.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Serbia’s election?
Serbia voted on Sunday, 25 October 2026. Polling stations closed at 20:00 Central European Time, which is 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Why is Serbia holding an early election?
Nearly two years of student-led protests demanded it after the 2024 Novi Sad station collapse. Vučić resigned as president on 27 September 2026 to run for prime minister.
Who is the main challenger?
The student-backed “Students Win” list, with 250 candidates, is the main challenger to the SNS. Ilija Srđanović leads it.
What do prediction markets say?
Kalshi priced the SNS-led list at 58% and the student list at 43% to win at 4:08 p.m. ET on 25 October 2026. These are bets, not polls.
Sources: Polymarket; Al Jazeera; N1 (Serbia); Republic Election Commission (RIK); Kalshi; Albanian Daily News; WION; Cyprus Mail; Al Jazeera on Spain’s snap election.
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