Two years after a station canopy in Novi Sad fell and took sixteen lives, including a six-year-old holding her grandfather's hand, a leaderless movement born of grief is testing whether a country can change its direction through the ballot. Aleksandar Vučić, who has shaped Serbian politics for twelve years, now seeks to hold power by a different door, while the students answer with a list of academics, artists and farmers chosen by their own assemblies. The result will be read through the long shadow of what the state did to those who protested, and both sides already doubt each other's right
Leaderless Student List Takes Its Protest to the Ballot in Serbia's Tight Election
Sixteen people died in the 1 November 2024 Novi Sad station canopy collapse, and protesters faced police beatings and intimidation.
The drop that overflowed the glass
Mark
Why does this election matter beyond Serbia?
Mimi
Because it began with 16 deaths at a train station and became a test of whether a leaderless movement can beat a government that has held power for 12 years. Neighbouring Hungary's recent change also raises hopes of a democratic domino.
Luke
Careful with the domino. The hope of emulating Hungary is the movement's, relayed by Borger. Nothing in the reporting shows it will spread.
Mark
How does a movement with no leader run a campaign?
Mimi
Through citizens' assemblies. They approved all 250 candidates and coordinate the canvassing and the village programme. Even the student interviewed stayed anonymous to honour that.
Luke
Who's winning? Polls conflict. Some show Student List edging ahead, others show the SNS consolidating. The enthusiasm in Krnjača is real, but Borger himself says it may not hold in outlying or rural areas.
Mark
What about the fairness of the vote?
Mimi
The CRTA survey found no negative TV coverage of the ruling majority, against 37% for the opposition. Vučić also made 129 live appearances in August.
Luke
Some claims are only allegations. The diaspora polling-station accusation comes from Student List, and the ministry did not respond. The spyware and police beatings come from SHARE Foundation and Reuters. The mafia links are alleged and denied.
Mark
And afterwards?
Mimi
Neither side accepts the other as legitimate, so a dispute is likely unless the result is clear.
Luke
That's Borger's assessment, plus an ECFR warning. How Student List would actually govern is unknown, since its stance on the EU, Kosovo and Russia has been left unsettled.
Il Polso
- A snap election on Sunday pits a leaderless student movement against a president who has ruled for twelve years and is switching to the prime minister's post.
- Critics say state TV gives the ruling party almost unbroken airtime while the opposition faces negative coverage, and a diaspora voting row has broken out over polling stations.
- Student List is knocking on doors in housing estates and villages, betting that disaffected voters will turn out in numbers the ruling party did not expect.
- Neither camp accepts the other as legitimate, polls point in different directions, and a disputed count could bring fresh street protests and force Brussels to rethink its diplomacy and funding.
Two years after a station canopy in Novi Sad fell and took sixteen lives, including a six-year-old holding her grandfather's hand, a leaderless movement born of grief is testing whether a country can change its direction through the ballot. Aleksandar Vučić, who has shaped Serbian politics for twelve years, now seeks to hold power by a different door, while the students answer with a list of academics, artists and farmers chosen by their own assemblies. The result will be read through the long shadow of what the state did to those who protested, and both sides already doubt each other's right to win. Whatever the count shows on Monday, it will be a verdict on how far a people's memory of loss can carry into a voting booth.
On 1 November 2024, a concrete canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad fell and killed sixteen people. The youngest was six-year-old Sara Firic, who had been sitting on a bench with her grandfather and sister. When their bodies were pulled from the rubble, the three were still holding hands. For many students, that was the moment everything overflowed.
The protests that followed had no central organiser. Demonstrators blocked a crossroads for as many minutes as there were lives lost, and anger grew as people learned of botched refurbishment work tied to a deal they called corrupt. The response was harsh, and the president called the demonstrators western-backed terrorists. He had expected the movement to fade. Instead, the pressure pushed him to resign the presidency and call a snap election, so that he could try to keep power as prime minister.
Now the movement is standing in that election. Student List is fielding 250 candidates, mostly academics, with actors, musicians and farmers among them, each approved by a citizens' assembly. It has no leader. Its volunteers canvass door to door, and a programme called A student in every village reaches into the rural base of the ruling party. Its slogan, Serbia or mafia?, points to allegations the government denies.
The contest is far from level. Critics point to near-total state television coverage of the ruling majority, a diaspora vote that some say was shaped by where polling stations were kept open, spyware aimed at movement members, and reports of police beatings. In Belgrade's Krnjača estates, one reporter found residents eager to help on election day, though he warned that outlying areas may think differently from the city's intellectuals.
Preliminary results are due early Monday. Neither side sees the other as legitimate, so a narrow or unclear result could bring more protests and force Europe to decide how much to keep investing in Serbia's leadership. A student victory would reshape the country's balancing act between the US, Russia and China. For now, the movement has deferred its hardest debates, saying the real argument begins once the current government is gone.
On 1 November 2024, a concrete canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia's second largest city, fell and killed 16 people. The youngest was six-year-old Sara Firic, who had been sitting on a bench with her grandfather and older sister. The Serbian Times reported that the three were still holding hands when their bodies were pulled from the rubble. A student later described the collapse to the Guardian as the drop that overflowed the glass.
Protests began among students and spread without a central organiser. Demonstrators blocked a nearby crossroads for as many minutes as there were lives lost. Anger grew as details emerged of botched refurbishment work, carried out under what critics called a corrupt deal with a Chinese consortium. The protests were harshly suppressed, and President Aleksandar Vučić branded the demonstrators western-backed terrorists.
Two years on, that movement is standing in Serbia's parliamentary election this Sunday. Vučić, a former henchman of Slobodan Milošević, has dominated Serbian politics for 12 years through his Serbian Progressive Party, the SNS. He expected the protests to fade. Instead, the pressure forced him to resign the presidency and call a snap election, as he tries to hold power by becoming prime minister, a switch the Guardian describes as Putin-inspired.
The students' answer is Student List, which is fielding 250 candidates. Most are locally respected academics, but the slate also includes actors, musicians and farmers, and each candidate was approved by a citizens' assembly. The movement has no leader. A masters student in dramatic arts at the University of Belgrade, who asked not to be named to respect that structure, said its essence is direct democracy, about making people part of decisions rather than spectators. Its work includes door-to-door canvassing and a programme called A student in every village, aimed at Vučić's rural base. The bet is that higher turnout among disaffected voters will favour the list. Its slogan is Serbia or mafia?, which points to repeated allegations of links between the SNS and organised crime. The government denies them.
Julian Borger, the Guardian's senior international correspondent, has just returned from Belgrade. Canvassing with volunteers in the housing estates of Krnjača, a Belgrade suburb, he met an overwhelmingly positive response, which he summed up as bring it on. Residents offered their contact details and asked what they could do on election day. He cautions that opinion in outlying suburbs and rural areas differs from that of the urban intelligentsia. Polling is mixed: some surveys show Student List edging ahead, others show the SNS consolidating its support. Borger left feeling anything could happen.
The contest is not level. Vučić made 129 live television appearances in August, more than four times the previous month's total. A September survey by the pro-democracy group CRTA found no negative coverage of the ruling majority on Serbian television channels, against negative coverage 37% of the time for the opposition. Student List accuses the foreign ministry of rigging the diaspora vote by keeping polling stations open where Vučić is strong and closing them in parts of North America where the opposition might do well. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The SHARE Foundation found that members of the movement were targeted with advanced spyware, and Reuters reported this week on police intimidation and beatings of protesters. Serbia has also slipped in international rankings for press freedom and corruption.
Preliminary results are expected in the early hours of Monday. Borger says neither side regards the other as legitimate, so barring a clear result the outcome will be disputed. The European Council on Foreign Relations has warned of further street protests and possible violent repression, depending on the margin. A contested Vučić win would pose the question to the EU of whether to freeze diplomacy and funding. A Student List win would upend the balancing act the SNS has kept up with the US, Russia and China, and could move Serbia closer to Europe, though public opinion on accession is split.
Student List itself has yet to say how it would govern. Its platform has been set by a full general assembly, and divisive questions such as relations with Kosovo and Russia and EU membership have been played down. The organiser said that once the regime is removed, the big debate begins, but for now the focus is Sunday.
Citazioni salienti
The essence of our movement is direct democracy. This collective effort is about making people feel part of the decision-making, not just spectators.— Anonymous Student List organiser, University of Belgrade student
Barring a really clear decision, the election result will be disputed one way or another, because neither side sees the other as legitimate.— Julian Borger, the Guardian's senior international correspondent (paraphrased)
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Politics & Governance