Following two years of intense student-led anti-corruption demonstrations, Serbia is holding an early parliamentary election that purportedly threatens the long-standing grip on power claimed by populist leader Aleksandar Vucic and his political allies. The vote marks a critical juncture for the Balkan nation.

Opinion polls suggest a fiercely contested race between Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the newly formed, youth-backed opposition movement known as the Students' List. Polling stations across the country opened early in the morning and are scheduled to close in the evening. * The current political turmoil stems from the tragic collapse of a railway station canopy in the city of Novi Sad in 2024, which claimed multiple lives. Public demands for accountability rapidly snowballed into the largest protest movement Serbia has witnessed since the ouster of the Slobodan Milosevic regime in 2000.

After calling snap elections last month, Vucic—who has dominated Serbian politics for over a decade—stepped down from his position as president in an effort to run for prime minister. However, the student-led movement is actively aiming to dismantle 14 years of right-wing SNS rule, hoping to emulate recent political shifts in the region.

Source: www.dw.com