Crowds gathered in Belgrade on Sunday after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić accepted defeat for his ruling party in an early parliamentary election. Supporters of the opposition movement, which had student backing, celebrated the result. It marked a major political change after years in which Vučić's party had dominated Serbian politics.
The election followed almost two years of protests against his government. The demonstrations began after a concrete canopy, a roof covering an area at Novi Sad railway station, collapsed in November 2024. The disaster killed 16 people and caused widespread anger over claims of corruption and failures by officials responsible for checking safety.
Students became the main force behind the demonstrations, which spread across Serbia. Over time, the movement brought together people with different political views. They shared demands for political change and wanted those responsible to answer for their actions.
Earlier, election workers had begun counting votes at polling stations across Belgrade after voting ended. Preliminary figures from Serbia's election commission suggested the highest parliamentary election turnout in more than three decades. The closely watched contest brought the governing party up against a broad opposition movement.
