Serbia votes in closely fought election as student-led opposition challenges Aleksandar Vucic's grip on power

Voting began in Serbia on Sunday in a closely contested election that could bring an end to more than a decade of rule by long-time leader Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Polls suggest a tight race between the SNS and the newly formed, youth-backed Students' List, which emerged from a mass student protest movement . The vote comes after almost two years of student-led protests sparked by the deadly collapse of a train station canopy in the city of Novi ‌Sad in 2024. The disaster killed 16 people and stirred widespread anger over alleged corruption, poor construction standards and a lack of accountability for public infrastructure projects.