Serbia's student-backed list defeats Vučić — but the seat counts do not agree
Serbia's student-backed Student List has defeated President Aleksandar Vučić's SNS-led alliance in Sunday's election, and Vučić conceded defeat late on Sunday — ending 14 years of dominance. But the counting is not finished: reports citing Serbia's electoral commission give two different seat allocations, and the commission's final official results are still to come. This page is published in Checking in progress state and shows both versions openly.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- 3Checking claims8 of 10 claims checked
- 4Human gateStill to come
8 of 10 claims checked so far · step 3 of 4: Checking claims
Key points
- Vučić conceded defeat late on Sunday after preliminary commission figures put the Student List ahead — the outcome itself is confirmed by his own concession.
- Vote shares with results now reported from 100% of polling stations: Student List 53.69%, SNS-led alliance 39.48% — still Not yet verified until RIK's certified final report.
- The seat counts STILL DISAGREE: the 100%-reporting table gives 140 seats to 103 (plus seven minority seats); the UK Commons Library briefing and the CeSID–Ipsos projection give the Student List 141.
- On Monday evening around 30 protesters entered Informer TV's newsroom calling for its editor's arrest; Vučić called it an attack on free speech.
- What settles the numbers: RIK's certified final report — under the timetable reported by the Beta agency, local commissions have 96 hours from the repeat vote's close to fix the collective results, and RIK then has 96 hours to publish the final report and distribute mandates.
Watch: the moment itself
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Video: BBC News · Watch on YouTube
What happened
The Student List grew out of student-led anti-corruption protests that followed the collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. Two years of largely peaceful protests demanded Vučić step down; the movement stayed deliberately leaderless so the government could not smear a single figurehead.
Vučić dominated Serbian politics as prime minister from 2014 and president from 2017. Media-freedom monitors describe tight government influence over national media: Reporters Without Borders ranked Serbia 104th of 180 in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, its lowest ever, and the Crta election monitor said national TV stations gave three-quarters of politician airtime to government representatives and portrayed the Student List negatively more than 80% of the time it was discussed (figures as reported by Al Jazeera/Reuters).
Under Serbia's constitution, once parliament is convened after the final results are announced, there are up to 90 days to form a government.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · The Student List and its supporters
- Voters chose change after two years of anti-corruption protests that began with the Novi Sad station canopy collapse, in which 16 people died.
- Srdanović urges calm and dignity until the electoral process ends, and no violence.
- The journalists' association says Informer TV systematically violated law and programme obligations, and seeks its licence revocation.
Side B · Vučić, the SNS and Informer TV
- The entry into Informer's newsroom was an attack on free speech and the freedom of journalism (Vučić).
- On the first day of its power, the Student List wants to ban the media (Vučićević).
- Vučić and the SNS have repeatedly denied accusations of repression and corruption (their standing position, per Reuters).
Independently verified
The Student List defeated Vučić's SNS-led alliance in Sunday's election, and Vučić conceded defeat late on Sunday. On Monday evening, around 30 people entered Informer TV's newsroom, interrupting broadcasting and calling for the arrest of editor-in-chief and owner Dragan Vučićević, while tens of thousands celebrated in the streets for a second night. Vučić called the Informer TV incident "an attack on free speech and the freedom of journalism"; Vučićević said the Student List, on its first day in power, wants to ban the media. Ilija Srdanović, head of the Student List, called for calm and dignity until the end of the electoral process and urged people to avoid any form of violence. The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia said it would apply on Tuesday to have Informer TV's broadcasting licence revoked, citing systematic violations of law and programme obligations; public broadcaster RTV Vojvodina opened its evening news by apologising to viewers for uncritical, one-sided reporting. On Thursday the student movement demanded the resignations of top officials in the police, intelligence agencies and the judiciary, urged the election authorities to declare the final results of Sunday's ballot without delay after a rerun at some 50 polling stations next Sunday, and asked public servants to prevent outgoing officials from destroying documentation or evidence of potential wrongdoing. Manja Grcic, the head of Serbia's state broadcaster RTS, resigned late on Wednesday, saying in her statement that she was aware her stay in office is 'temporarily perceived as an obstacle to change' and asking the Managing Board to ensure continuity of leadership and a lawful handover of duties.Not yet verified
Vote shares with results reported from 100% of polling stations after Sunday's repeat vote: Student List 53.69%, Vučić's SNS-led alliance 39.48%. In its latest update on Wednesday, the electoral commission said the Student List had secured 140 seats in the 250-seat parliament, with Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party on 104 — although the result is still not finalised.Claim by claim
Why this label: The concession is the losing side's own act, reported by Reuters and by Al Jazeera; preliminary electoral commission figures point the same way. Final certified results are still to come — see the vote-share and seat claims below, which are NOT yet upgraded.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The 100%-reporting stage is reported by TASS from the Republic Electoral Commission's release and matches the commission-based results table (reporting as of 23:25 CET on 1 November); the UK House of Commons Library's research briefing independently gives the Student List 53.7%. Vozia has still not read RIK's own publication directly, and the commission's certified final report is still to come, so the shares stay Not yet verified. This claim replaces the earlier almost-99% stage (52.7% / 39.2%) in place.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: The versions still cannot all be right: 140 + 103 + 7 minority seats totals 250, while the Commons Library briefing (53.7%, 141 seats) and the final CeSID–Ipsos projection (141 to 103) differ by a seat. Earlier versions in circulation (139–97 in one Reuters report; 140–104 in the commission's preliminary presentation) are superseded stages, kept in this page's history. Vozia publishes none of these as the result; RIK's certified final allocation is the one that counts.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Show all claims (7 more)
Why this label: Reported by Al Jazeera and Reuters; the entry was visible in live footage broadcast by Informer TV itself. A separate group gathered outside Pink TV, which police cordoned off.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Both are stated positions, reported as such: Vučić's on his personal Instagram account, Vučićević's in his statement after the incident. Vozia reports them as the two sides' positions, not as findings about intent.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: From Srdanović's own video message on Instagram, reported by Al Jazeera/Reuters. The movement is deliberately leaderless; Srdanović heads its candidate list, and who becomes prime minister is not yet known.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The association's stated intention and RTV's on-air apology, both reported by Al Jazeera/Reuters. Whether the licence application is filed, and what the regulator does with it, is still to come.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The demands themselves are the fact here, reported by AP from the students' Thursday news conference in Belgrade and carried by BBC News: spokesperson Filip Ubovic said 'Changes are starting now' and 'Institutions belong to the citizens and the law applies to everyone', and said the movement is not seeking revenge but adherence to the laws. The students' underlying charges — that the officials served Vučić's party in violation of the law, and that top-level corruption cases were sidelined under political pressure — are the students' allegations, reported as their demands, not as findings; AP reports no immediate response from the officials asked to step down. At his own Thursday news conference Vučić accused the election winners of 'revolutionary terror' after the Informer TV incident — his stated position, reported as such.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Reported by Reuters — Grcic handed in her resignation late on Wednesday after talks with union representatives, and the words quoted are from her own statement as carried by Reuters — and by AP, which likewise reports the RTS general manager has resigned and that RTS's Novi Sad branch has apologised to viewers for selective and non-professional reporting. This follows the students' Tuesday demand that the RTS leadership resign over alleged bias, reported by other outlets; the resignation itself is the confirmed act.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: As reported by Reuters (29 October). This matches one of the two allocations this page already shows as Disputed (140–104 plus six minority seats) and does not settle the count: a rerun at some 50 polling stations is still to come next Sunday, the commission's final official results are still awaited, and Vozia has still not read the commission's (RIK) own publication directly. The seat claim above therefore stays Disputed overall, and this latest stage is carried as Not yet verified.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- Vučić conceded defeat late on Sunday, and preliminary commission figures reported by Reuters put the Student List clearly ahead.
- Two different seat allocations are in circulation (139–97 and 140–104 plus six minority seats); both are shown on this page.
- Protesters entered Informer TV on Monday evening; the journalists' association intends to seek revocation of its licence.
What we don't know yet
- RIK's certified final vote shares and seat allocation — the figures that settle this story. The repeat vote has been held and reporting has reached 100% of stations, but Vozia has not read the commission's own final publication.
- Who the Student List will put forward as prime minister, and when a government can be formed.
- Whether the Informer TV licence application is filed and how the regulator rules.
Why it matters
A leaderless student movement has ended 14 years of one man's dominance in a European country of some 6 million people — and the first fight of the new era is over the media itself: a TV newsroom entered, a public broadcaster apologising on air, a licence revocation sought. How the disputed seats are settled by the commission's final count is the first test of whether Serbia's institutions, or its streets, decide what happens next.
Background
Show the background timeline (5)
A train station canopy collapses in Novi Sad, killing 16 people. Student-led anti-corruption protests follow and grow into a movement demanding Vučić step down.
Aleksandar Vučić dominates Serbian politics — prime minister from 2014, president from 2017 — with tight influence over national media.
Parliamentary election. Preliminary commission figures put the Student List ahead of the SNS-led alliance; Vučić concedes defeat late in the evening.
A second night of street celebrations. Around 30 protesters enter Informer TV's newsroom; the journalists' association says it will seek revocation of the station's licence.
The Republic Electoral Commission's final official results — the figures that settle the vote shares and the seat allocation.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Update — Checking in progress: the repeat vote ordered at 53 polling stations was held on Sunday 1 November (Beta agency and IANS/Xinhua reports, citing the Republic Electoral Commission: 31 stations where the result could not be determined and 22 where the vote was annulled; 24,438 voters eligible), and reporting has since reached 100% of polling stations (TASS, reporting the commission's release; the commission-based results table, reporting as of 23:25 CET). At that stage the Student List stands at 53.69% and Vučić's alliance at 39.48% — the share claim on this page is edited in place to this stage and stays Not yet verified, because Vozia has still not read RIK's own publication directly. The seats still do not agree: the 100% table gives 140 to 103 plus seven minority seats, while the UK House of Commons Library briefing and the CeSID–Ipsos projection give the Student List 141 — the seat claim stays Disputed. Under the timetable reported by Beta, local commissions have 96 hours from the repeat vote's close to fix the collective results and RIK then has 96 hours to publish the final report and distribute mandates, so the certified result is still to come. This story stays in Checking in progress.
Update — Checking in progress: on Thursday the student movement demanded the resignations of top officials in the police, intelligence agencies and the judiciary, urged the election authorities to declare the final results without delay after a rerun at some 50 polling stations next Sunday, and asked public servants to stop outgoing officials destroying documentation (AP report of the news conference, read in full in this scan; the students' charges against the officials are their allegations, carried as such). RTS head Manja Grcic resigned late on Wednesday, per Reuters and AP. Reuters also reports the electoral commission's latest update on Wednesday gave the students 140 seats to the SNS's 104, still not finalised — that matches one of the two allocations already shown here as Disputed, so the seat count is NOT settled or upgraded: RIK's final official results, after the rerun, are still awaited and Vozia has still not read RIK's own publication directly. This story stays in Checking in progress. The story's existing official video is unchanged; no new official video of these developments was verified in this scan.
Story published in Checking in progress state: the outcome is confirmed by Vučić's concession, but the seat counts differ between reports and the electoral commission's final official results are still awaited. Both seat versions are shown on this page.