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Why are Serbians protesting against Vucic's government?

For almost two years, students led Serbia's largest protests since 2000. On 25 October, the leader they wanted gone said his party had lost the election. The next night, some celebrating protesters entered a pro-Vucic TV newsroom, and the movement now has to show how it will govern.

Published 25 Oct 2026 Updated 27 Oct 2026 By Implica 13 sources 9 min read

THE SHORT ANSWER

Because a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people, and many Serbians blamed corruption. Students demanded a transparent investigation, and the protests grew into calls for an early election and an end to Aleksandar Vucic's rule. Vucic denied the corruption claims and accused the movement of being foreign-funded. He called a snap election, held on 25 October 2026, and conceded defeat to the students' list, citing preliminary results.

What happened

On 22 October, around 150,000 people filled Slavija Square in central Belgrade and the streets around it for the student movement's last big rally, according to the Archive of Public Gatherings, an independent group that estimates crowd sizes. Vucic held a rival rally at a sports hall across the city before several thousand people. He said he expected to win by several hundred thousand votes. Civil society groups and election monitors had warned that the campaign was marred by intimidation, arrests and misuse of public resources, and the European Union had voiced concern about the fairness of the vote.

On 25 October, voters turned out in record numbers. Pollsters and the election commission put turnout close to 70%, the highest since Yugoslavia broke up in 1992. Even Vucic waited nearly two hours in line to vote. Less than two hours after polls closed, he said on television that the Student List had won. Citing a sample of results, he said it would take between 135 and 140 of the 250 seats and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) 105. A separate sample by the pollsters CeSID-IPSPS gave 138 seats to the students and 104 to the SNS. According to the BBC, with 97% of polling stations counted, the students had 2.25 million votes (53%) and the SNS 1.67 million (39%). Final results had not yet been announced. Vucic blamed independent media for the loss and alleged interference from unnamed European countries and the "US deep state", without elaborating.

On 26 October, tens of thousands celebrated for a second night. Around 30 people walked into the newsroom of Informer TV, a pro-Vucic station, interrupting its broadcast. Some called for the arrest of its editor-in-chief and owner, Dragan Vucicevic. A mother of one of the 16 Novi Sad victims was among them, according to AFP. Police intervened and the crowd dispersed. The student movement said it does not support break-ins at media outlets and that it would change the media through parliament. Its top candidate, cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, asked supporters to stay calm. Police also cordoned off the private Pink TV station in Belgrade, where a group had gathered. The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia said it would ask for Informer's broadcasting licence to be revoked.

Why it matters

A government that held power for years has lost to a movement with no single leader, and the handover is not finished. The students have to name a prime minister, run a parliament and handle their own crowds, while Vucic's party and loyal media look for ways to question the new order. How the first weeks go will show whether the protest movement can turn a street campaign into stable government.

  • For the students, They won on promises to fight corruption, improve education and hold members of the old government to account. Now they must pick a prime minister and other key officials, and keep their celebrating supporters calm.
  • For Vucic and the SNS, The party loses the government it has led since 2012. Vucic has denied the corruption claims and described the movement as a foreign-funded plot.
  • For journalists and media owners, Pro-Vucic outlets like Informer had cast the protesters as dangerous. The students say they will change the media system through parliament, and a journalists' group is seeking to end Informer's licence.
  • For Serbia's ties with the EU, Relations frayed under Vucic over missing reforms of the judiciary, the rule of law and corruption. European leaders have congratulated the Student List, and the European Commission president said the EU stands ready to work together on Serbia's future in the bloc.

The background: a decades-old fight over power, media and corruption

Milosevic and the student movement of 2000

Serbia has been here before. Slobodan Milosevic ruled Serbia and then Yugoslavia through the 1990s. Observers described his rule as authoritarian, with accusations of electoral fraud, suppression of media freedom and police brutality. In 1998, a dozen students formed a group called Otpor!, Serbian for "resistance", after outrage over new laws that put universities under political control and harassed independent media.

After a disputed election on 24 September 2000, mass protests reached Belgrade, and on 5 October Milosevic resigned. A man ramming the state broadcaster RTS building with a wheel loader became the symbol of the day, which is known as the Bulldozer Revolution. Aleksandar Vucic was Milosevic's information minister from March 1998. Scholars described him as the crucial figure in shaping Serbian media policy at the turn of the century.

Vucic's years in power

Vucic's SNS came to power in 2012. He served as first deputy prime minister, then prime minister from 2014 to 2017, then as president from 2017. Serbia's constitution makes the presidency largely ceremonial. The 2017 election result sparked protests in which thousands accused him of leading the country towards authoritarianism. In 2021, mass protests broke out against a lithium mine planned by Rio Tinto, and the government revoked its licences in January 2022.

Many voters credit Vucic with pulling Serbia out of economic obscurity and building highways, railways, schools and hospitals. Critics point to pressure on media outlets and journalists, and to Transparency International data showing a rise in perceived corruption. He kept close ties with Russia and China while saying he wanted to join the EU, which grew frustrated at the lack of reforms.

The canopy collapse and a spreading protest

On 1 November 2024, the canopy of the newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad collapsed. Sixteen people died. Early protests were quiet vigils, but they grew as demonstrators accused police and local authorities of negligence and corruption. On 20 November, Trade Minister Tomislav Momirovic resigned. By mid-December, students were blockading more than 50 university campuses, including the three biggest, in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis. On 22 December, a large protest was held at Slavija Square in Belgrade.

Authorities rejected the corruption allegations. Over the following months, scores of students were detained as the government cracked down on the protests.

Demands, strikes and a call for elections

On the evening of 17 January 2025, tens of thousands protested outside the RTS building in Belgrade, unhappy with how it covered the protests, and the students proclaimed four demands. A general strike followed on 24 January. On 3 February, prosecutors announced a corruption investigation into the station's reconstruction, and on 6 February the government increased the higher education budget by 20 percent, which the announcement said fulfilled one of the demands. By March 2025, student-led protests had spread to 400 cities and towns.

On 5 May 2025, the students called for early parliamentary elections. On 28 June, the Vidovdan protest in Belgrade drew about 140,000 people according to independent monitors, while official figures said around 36,000. On 1 August, prosecutors ordered arrests linked to the collapse. Eleven people were detained, among them Momirovic. By then, protests in some towns had become more confrontational, with demonstrators attacked by masked groups.

From the streets to the ballot

In September 2026, the SNS nominated Vucic, then still president, as its candidate for prime minister. The government proposed dissolving parliament on 7 September, and on 9 September he dissolved the National Assembly and called the election. He resigned the presidency to run for prime minister. This was the first time the students' movement faced voters, as the Student List: 250 candidates for 250 seats, many of them academics and political outsiders.

The campaign ran under pressure. Monitors reported intimidation, surveillance and near-total government control of the media. Vucic accused the movement of being a foreign-funded coup attempt. Polls showed a close race, and the final rally on 22 October drew around 150,000 people. On 25 October, Vucic conceded.

GOOD TO KNOW

In January 2025, students at a protest in Cacak carried a cardboard replica of a bulldozer, a nod to the 2000 Bulldozer Revolution that toppled Milosevic. Vucic had served as Milosevic's information minister.

What is the Student List?

The Student List is described as a leaderless movement of student-backed candidates. It grew out of the protests and is not an established party. Its 250 candidates include university professors, actors and farmers, and it is led on the ballot by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic. Its agenda centres on rooting out corruption, restoring the rule of law and improving education. It has said little about foreign policy.

Because it has no clear leader, Serbians are still waiting to see whom it will name as prime minister and to other key posts. This is one of the open questions of the transition.

Why do the media matter in this story?

Pro-government outlets like Informer cast the protesting students as dangerous actors conspiring to destabilise Serbia. Students rallied outside Informer's headquarters in March 2025, and in April 2025 they called for blockades of the public broadcasters RTS and RTV. Under Milosevic, RTS was a symbol of his rule, and it was taken over on the day he fell in 2000.

The movement now says it will change the media through parliament, not through break-ins. Its statement after the Informer incident said it does not support or call for entering media outlets and institutions. The Informer editor, in turn, said the movement wants to ban the media on its first day in power.

Timeline: 1998 to today

THE MILOSEVIC ERA

  1. A dozen students form Otpor!, which later calls for Milosevic's removal.

  2. Aleksandar Vucic is appointed Minister of Information.

  3. A disputed election is held, with accusations of fraud against Milosevic.

  4. After mass protests in Belgrade, Milosevic resigns.

VUCIC IN POWER

  1. Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party takes power.

  2. The SNS-led coalition wins 158 of 250 seats and Vucic becomes prime minister.

  3. Vucic becomes president, and the result sparks protests accusing him of authoritarianism.

  4. Mass protests break out against a lithium mine planned by Rio Tinto.

THE CANOPY COLLAPSE AND THE PROTESTS

  1. The canopy of the Novi Sad railway station collapses, and 16 people die.

  2. Trade Minister Tomislav Momirovic resigns amid the protests.

  3. A large protest is held at Slavija Square in Belgrade.

  4. Tens of thousands protest outside RTS, and the students proclaim four demands.

  5. Prosecutors announce a corruption investigation into the station's reconstruction.

  6. Student protesters call for early parliamentary elections.

  7. The Vidovdan protest in Belgrade draws about 140,000 people, by independent estimates.

  8. Eleven people are detained in a corruption operation linked to the collapse, including Momirovic.

THE ELECTION

  1. The government proposes dissolving parliament for a snap election.

  2. Vucic dissolves the National Assembly and calls the election for 25 October.

  3. Around 150,000 people attend the students' final rally in Belgrade.

  4. On record turnout, Vucic concedes defeat to the Student List.

  5. Protesters enter the newsroom of pro-Vucic Informer TV during a second night of celebrations.

What to watch next

  • Final results. Vucic's figures came from preliminary samples, and the electoral process was still not complete when the students asked supporters to stay calm until its end.
  • The prime minister. The movement has no clear leader, and Serbians are waiting to see whom it appoints as prime minister and to other key positions.
  • Informer's licence. The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia said it would apply on Tuesday to have Informer TV's broadcasting licence revoked.
  • Media laws and accountability. The students say they will change the media through parliament, and one supporter hopes for swift accountability for top members of the old government, a pledge of the Student List.

Sources

How this article was made: Implica's editorial system wrote it from the news reports above, with the background drawn from Wikipedia: History of Serbia, Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, Aleksandar Vučić, 2024–2026 Serbian anti-corruption protests.

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