Serbia's Vučić concedes election defeat to student-led protest movement

25 October 2026, 21: 01 GMT. Updated 11 minutes ago.

Key points

• Vučić had called the snap elections after two years of protests triggered by the 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad.
• Vučić created his announcement at the headquarters of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the capital Belgrade.
• You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App.
• Serbia's long-standing leader Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat to the student-led protest movement in the country's snap parliamentary election.
• It is clear that we have lost these elections, the right-wing populist leader remarked late on Sunday.

"We still do not have final results. It is clear that we have lost these elections, " the right-wing populist leader remarked late on Sunday.

Preliminary figures provided by Serbia's election commission indicated a record high turnout. It commentators had suggested would favour the student movement.

Vučić had called the snap elections after two years of protests triggered by the 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad. It killed 16 and was seen as emblematic of corruption and negligence in Serbia.

There were celebrations on the streets of the city, with cars honking and students chanting "victory".

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Taken together, the developments around serbia' s Vučić concedes election defeat to student point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.