Mass Opposition Gathering in Capital
Approximately 150,000 supporters of Serbia’s opposition student movement rallied in central Belgrade on Thursday, according to the independent crowd size monitoring group the Archive of Public Gatherings. The demonstration occurred ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, which represent a significant challenge to the long-standing dominance of President Aleksandar Vucic.
The Student List, described as a leaderless movement of student-backed candidates, aims to end more than 14 years of rule by Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the upcoming vote. The gathering marked the largest public display of support for the opposition coalition ahead of the weekend election.
University professor Jugoslav Gasic, one of 250 candidates on the Student List, addressed the crowd during the rally. He stated that the protesters are ending "14 years of humiliation, chaos and betrayal," according to reports. The audience responded by chanting "Victory, victory!"
The protests were sparked by the collapse of a canopy at the newly renovated Novi Sad railway station in 2024, an incident that killed 16 people and was widely blamed on corruption. Civil society groups have warned that the current poll campaign has been marred by intimidation, arrests, attacks, misuse of public resources, and a distorted media environment.
Vucic Accuses Movement of Foreign Coup
President Vucic addressed his own supporters at a sports hall in the capital on Thursday. He accused the student movement of being a foreign-funded coup attempt. Vucic urged his supporters to "defeat them decisively" as white ticker tape and balloons showered the crowd.
Vucic, who resigned from his presidential post to run for prime minister, faces what is described as the biggest threat to his political power in recent years. The Student List seeks to oust the right-wing populist Serbian Progressive Party in Sunday’s vote.
Composition of Opposition and Electoral Outlook
Many of the 250 candidates running for the 250-seat parliament are drawn from academia or are deliberate political outsiders. A core pledge of the Student List is to fight corruption.
Predicting the outcome of the election remains difficult due to a lack of reliable independent polling, according to political scientist Dusan Vucicevic from Belgrade University. However, Vucicevic told AFP that he expected the student movement to win more than 40 seats.
Supporters at the Belgrade rally expressed hope for political change. One attendee, identified as 47-year-old Ma, stated they came to support the Student List because young people gave them hope that it is possible to live in a normal country.