Serbia voter turnout highest in decades as students oppose longtime leader

Election commission says turnout reaches 65% amid allegations of intimidation, violence and voting irregularities.

Casting her ballot at a polling station in Belgrade on Sunday [Marko Djurica/Reuters]

Polls have closed in Serbia’s snap parliamentary election , which saw the highest voter turnout in decades, with a student-backed movement seeking to unseat longtime leader Aleksandar Vucic.

Voting ended at 8pm local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday, with first indications of the result expected a few hours later.

list 1 of 2 Serbia votes in election pitting longtime leader against student movement

list 2 of 2 Serbia votes as student-led bloc challenges longtime leader Vucic

The vote will determine whether Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has governed since 2012, can retain power against a movement born from nationwide anticorruption protests .

The State Election Commission said that voter turnout had reached 64.9 percent by 17:00GMT, ⁠⁠the ⁠⁠highest since ⁠⁠the breakup ‌‌of Yugoslavia in ‌‌1992.

The higher turnout does not show which side gained support.

University of Belgrade researcher Jelena Vasiljevic told Al Jazeera in an interview published on Friday that the SNS had a reliable voter base, while the students needed to attract people who normally did not vote.

Sunday’s voting was also marked by reports of intimidation and procedural problems.

The Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), an independent election watchdog, said its observers recorded pressure on voters or election workers at almost a third of the 500 polling stations it monitored.

It also reported failures to protect ballot secrecy.

By 5pm (16:00 GMT), the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), an election-monitoring group, had received about 260 reports of potential irregularities, including ballot photography, group voting and difficulties with identification checks.

Pressure from student-led movement

In Belgrade, police wearing riot helmets and carrying shields deployed near the election commission’s headquarters, where roads were closed and barricades erected.

City prosecutors appealed on Sunday for everyone involved in the election to avoid violence.

The election follows nearly two years of student-led protests that began after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people.

Demands for accountability widened into a movement against alleged government corruption and repression. Vucic and the SNS deny those accusations.

The Student List – Students Win, which emerged from demonstrations, is fielding candidates drawn from professions, including medicine and education, many of whom have no political experience.

The movement campaigns for stronger institutions and an end to corruption.

Some established opposition parties have backed the students rather than field candidates of their own.

Vucic resigned as president in September to run for prime minister, promising higher pensions, public-sector wages and investment.

Supporters credit his rule with modernising Serbia’s economy.

About six and a half million people were eligible to vote for 250 parliamentary seats, with 18 electoral lists competing. A majority of 126 seats is needed to form a government.

选举委员会称，尽管有恐吓、暴力和投票违规的指控，但投票率仍达到 65%。

周日，她在贝尔格莱德的一个投票站投票。[Marko Djurica/路透社]

塞尔维亚提前举行的议会选举投票结束，此次选举投票率创下数十年来新高，由学生支持的运动试图推翻长期执政的领导人亚历山大·武契奇。

投票于当地时间周日晚上 8 点（格林尼治标准时间 19:00）结束，预计几个小时后将公布初步结果。

塞尔维亚选举结果（共两份）：长期领导人与学生运动展开角逐

塞尔维亚举行大选，学生领导的联盟挑战长期领导人武契奇（名单2/2）。

此次投票将决定自 2012 年以来一直执政的武契奇领导的塞尔维亚进步党 (SNS) 能否在全国反腐败抗议运动的冲击下保住政权。

国家选举委员会表示，截至格林尼治标准时间 17:00，投票率已达到 64.9%，这是自 1992 年南斯拉夫解体以来的最高投票率。

较高的投票率并不能表明哪一方获得了更多支持。

贝尔格莱德大学研究员耶莱娜·瓦西列维奇在周五发表的半岛电视台采访中表示，塞尔维亚进步党拥有可靠的选民基础，而学生党则需要吸引那些通常不投票的人。

周日的投票也出现了恐吓和程序问题的报道。

独立选举监督机构——研究、透明和问责中心（CRTA）表示，其观察员记录到在其监测的 500 个投票站中，近三分之一的投票站存在对选民或选举工作人员施压的情况。

报告还指出，在保护投票秘密方面存在失败。

截至下午 5 点（格林尼治标准时间 16:00），选举监督组织“自由选举与民主中心”（CeSID）已收到约 260 份关于潜在违规行为的报告，包括选票拍照、集体投票和身份检查困难。

来自学生领导的运动的压力

在贝尔格莱德，头戴防暴头盔、手持盾牌的警察部署在选举委员会总部附近，道路被封锁，并设置了路障。

周日，市检察官呼吁所有参与选举的人员避免暴力行为。

此次选举是在学生领导的抗议活动持续近两年之后举行的。抗议活动始于 2024 年 11 月诺维萨德火车站顶棚倒塌事件，造成 16 人死亡。

要求追究责任的呼声逐渐演变成一场反对政府腐败和镇压的运动。武契奇和塞尔维亚进步党否认了这些指控。

由示威游行中诞生的“学生名单——学生获胜”组织推出了来自各行各业的候选人，其中包括医学和教育领域的候选人，其中许多人没有政治经验。

该运动旨在争取更强大的机构和终结腐败。

一些老牌反对党没有推出自己的候选人，而是支持学生。

武契奇于9月辞去总统职务，竞选总理，承诺提高养老金、公共部门工资和增加投资。

支持者认为他的统治使塞尔维亚的经济实现了现代化。

约有650万人有资格投票选举250个议会席位，共有18个候选人名单参与角逐。组建政府需要获得126个席位的多数席位。