The Students’ List in Serbia won the most votes in the recent parliamentary elections. This brings to an end President Aleksandar Vučić’s 14-year rule. It can be described as a historic turning point for the country. A student and a researcher at Radboud University look back on the election victory in their home country.

‘It was so windy in The Hague that day and we were waiting in line for five hours. People who were done with voting would pass by with their cars and honk. They were giving out food and snacks. And some people even brought rakija. And then there was this one lady who was really cold and my parents gave her the blanket we had in our car. It was so amazing to be part of that queue.’

Milica Milosavljević, a Serbian psychology student at Radboud University, was one of approximately 1,700 people who voted for the student-led party at the Serbian embassy in The Hague on October 25, on the occasion of the Serbian parliamentary elections.

This election resulted in a turning point for the fresh and young movement ‘Studenti u blokadi’ that had spent nearly two years mobilising against corruption and demanding accountability from the government of President Aleksandar Vučić. This was in regard to the collapse of a concrete canopy that killed 16 people at the railway station in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, and was attributed to corruption surrounding a major state infrastructure project promoted by the president himself.

Social media

But how does a group of students gain such widespread public trust in a very conservative country where the system is marked by corruption? ‘It definitely started with the use of social media’, says Bojana Većkalov, a post-doctoral researcher in political psychology at Radboud University, who herself attended several protests in Serbia in the course of the past year. ‘Every student plenum, as we call the faculty assemblies, maintained its own Instagram account and messaging system to coordinate and highlight distinct issues. For example, students in Novi Sad heavily focused on commemoration events after the tragedy at the railway station, others on practical running of protests and blockades.’

That massive youth mobilization spread far beyond young people. ‘These students are someone’s children and grandchildren – and for the first time in ages they were empowered to act as political actors. Their energy radiated into their families, involving everyone at a certain point.’

‘A student in every village’

Another highly effective tactic used was the ‘Student u svakom selu‘, translated to ‘A student in every village’, campaign, the political psychologist explains. In 2025 and during the election campaign, students walked and biked hundreds of kilometres across the country to reach small towns and neglected villages. ‘Residents, who usually had no alternative to media and TV run by the corrupt regime, met the students first hand. They realized that these young people were not the “scarecrows” as they were portrayed on state television.’

‘This strategy allowed them to bridge political divides and appeal to Serbia’s significant conservative, right-wing demographic too’

‘Another thing they also did was the reclamation of Serbian national symbols. By adopting the flag, national colors and folk music, they stripped them of state monopoly and made them represent a noble, patriotic sense of civic responsibility. This strategy allowed them to bridge political divides and appeal to Serbia’s significant conservative, right-wing demographic too – extending the movement’s reach far beyond the already politically engaged liberal opposition’, concludes Većkalov.

Student union

Milosavljević, who moved to the Netherlands at the age of 17 with her family, mostly followed the protests on social media. ‘It’s actually the student protests in Serbia that made me become active in the AKKU student union. I also joined a diaspora group of Serbian people in the Netherlands and we ended up organizing a panel discussion in support of the students in Serbia. I felt I had to do something with the energy and the inspiration I got.’

Was the election result primarily a vote for the students’ political program or a vote against corruption? ‘I think the beauty of this moment is that it was finally both’, Većkalov says. ‘It was definitely a vote against the regime, but it was also something people could like authentically stand behind.’

‘And in regard to the students’ political program, the new National Assembly and government have yet to be formed, and right now the transfer of power remains incomplete’, she continues. ‘We’re in this sensitive transition period, there is pressure and big expectations, and a lot of balls started already rolling, like changes in the state television, which has been extremely one sided, changes in the judiciary, in the prosecutor office… I think the students’ program is very focused on sort of “cleaning house”, that means unplugging the state institutions and enabling them to just work independently with laws applied fairly to everyone.’

Horizontal decision-making

Who is going to apply those changes? The electoral list is composed primarily of academics, experts and public individuals with established reputations in their respective fields, rather than career politicians. Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist and professor at the University of Novi Sad, is first on the list. Većkalov: ‘He describes himself as a representative rather than a leader, reflecting the movement’s emphasis on horizontal decision-making and collective leadership. He has never been in politics before. Further down the list there is Dejan Šoškić, an economist and the former governor of the National Bank of Serbia. There is also two psychology professors, who happen to be my former professors, Aleksandar Baucal and Oliver Tošković. Next to them there are other professors, academics, artists, actors and people with a large public appeal or credibility without any controversy in their biographies. The list of candidates’ backgrounds was carefully vetted, the people who were chosen were checked to be clean.’

‘I think this was the first time in my life that I went to vote feeling that I actually had the chance to change something’

‘I think these people are extremely capable’, she continues. ‘They are intellectuals, experts, and leaders in their respective fields. If you look at Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), many of its politicians, in my opinion, lack the qualifications for the positions they hold. Some come from entirely different professional backgrounds and seem to have obtained degrees from private universities almost overnight before entering government. The people on the student list, by contrast, are established experts. They have the knowledge and professional experience to work in the areas they specialise in, and I believe they are more than capable of doing so without additional help.’

Nicest outfit

‘Since I became politically active and able to vote, all I’ve known is Vučić and his party’, says student Milosavljević. ‘And only a political environment where everything felt corrupt and unfair. I think this was the first time in my life that I went to vote feeling that I actually had the chance to change something.’

What she felt when she heard the election results? ‘I could not believe it! I was so happy and I wish I could have celebrated this victory in a better way, but I don’t really know many people here in Nijmegen. So, on Monday, the day after the big win, I got up, got ready, put on make-up and wore my nicest outfit. I felt as though I was going to a party or a wedding or something. But I wasn’t really going anywhere. I just felt so full of hope.’