Serbia’s longtime leader faces biggest political test as students mount election challenge

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has left the presidency and is seeking to become prime minister in a snap parliamentary election on 25 October, creating a major test of his 14-year hold on power. Student protesters, who have built a political challenge from an anti-corruption movement, are drawing support that established opposition groups have struggled to attract.

Vucic’s foreign minister says the student opposition lacks a credible programme and is unlikely to win, while critics and observers warn the election may take place in a hostile environment and question whether its result would be respected. The protests began in November 2024 after 16 people died when a railway station collapsed. Vucic, prime minister from 2014 to 2017 and president from 2017, has cited economic growth as a record of his leadership; a bipartisan US bill would link future aid to progress on judicial accountability, press freedom and alignment with the EU and NATO.