Around 150,000 supporters of Serbia’s opposition Student List movement rallied in central Belgrade on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election.
The crowd filled Slavija Square, waving “Students are winning” flags and blowing whistles, as the movement seeks to end more than 14 years of rule by Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) . The Archive of Public Gatherings, an independent monitoring group, estimated the turnout at 150,000 .
The Student List, a leaderless coalition of 250 candidates backed by students, includes academics and political outsiders running on an anti-corruption platform . University professor Jugoslav Gasić told the crowd, “We are putting an end to 14 years of humiliation, chaos and betrayal,” as supporters chanted “Victory, victory!” . The movement’s cardiologist candidate, Ilija Srdanović, leads the list, which frames the vote as a choice between “Serbia or the mafia” .
The rally followed nearly two years of protests triggered by the 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people, an incident widely blamed on corruption . Vučić, who resigned the presidency in September to run for prime minister, held a rival rally across town, accusing the movement of being a foreign-funded coup attempt .
Polls show a tight race, with one survey giving the Student List 44.5% to the SNS’s 42.7% . Civil society groups have warned of election irregularities, and prosecutors questioned six people on suspicion of plotting violence on election day . The Student List’s campaign was funded 98% by citizen donations, totaling nearly €2 million .
