Serbia’s student-led movement is preparing to form a government after winning a parliamentary election and ending 14-years of rule by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

The Student List won 52.54% of the vote, according to preliminary results published by Serbia’s election commission on October 26.

The United Serbia list, led by former president Aleksandar Vucic, received 39.29%.

Turnout reached around 69%, its highest level in more than 30 years, according to the commission.

The Student List is projected to win about 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, giving it a majority without the need for coalition partners. United Serbia is expected to secure 103 seats.

Its parliamentary majority should make policymaking easier, allowing it to pass legislation without having to bargain with the SNS.

The movement must now decide who will become prime minister, assemble a cabinet and turn its broad promises of reform into government policy.

Who will be Serbia’s next prime minister?

The Student List has deliberately avoided presenting itself as a movement built around a single leader.

Instead, it has sought to bring together a range of candidates outside the political sphere, including academics, doctors, artists, engineers and farmers. It believes the country should be governed through collective decision-making rather than by one dominant political figure.

Ilija Srdanovic, a cardiologist and professor at the University of Novi Sad’s Faculty of Medicine, was the first candidate on the list and one of its most prominent representatives during the campaign.

He is among the possible candidates for prime minister, but the movement has not yet announced who will take the job.

In an interview with Radio Free Europe following the election, Srdanovic said the decision would be made after the final results were announced by the election commission. He also stressed that the movement wanted to avoid a return to the concentration of power associated with Vucic’s rule.

Other names mentioned as possible candidates for prime minister include Dejan Soskic, a former governor of the National Bank of Serbia, and Radomir Saicic, a professor of organic chemistry at the University of Belgrade.

Soskic, an economist and university professor, served as central bank governor from 2010 to 2012. He resigned after opposing legislation that he believed threatened the bank’s independence. He was ranked 27th on the Student List.

According to The Times, rather than rushing to join the election-night celebrations, as Srdanovic did, Soskic gave a series of measured interviews about how the movement had defeated the SNS and its plans for government.

Saicic has also spoken publicly on behalf of the movement and is likely to get a minister posting. He has said the choice of prime minister would be made by the movement’s candidates in consultation with the student movement.

A government made up of experts from different professional backgrounds may offer a different, more technocratic approach to policymaking.

When will the new government take office?

Under Serbia’s constitution, the new parliament must be constituted within 30 days of the publication of the final results.

Acting President Ana Brnabic, a senior SNS figure who has temporarily assumed presidential duties following Vucic’s resignation, must then nominate a candidate for prime minister after consulting parliamentary groups.

The nominee must secure a majority in parliament.

A new government must be formed within 90 days of the constitution of parliament. The Student List’s projected majority should make the process more straightforward than if it had needed to negotiate a coalition.

Until the new government takes office, the outgoing administration remains in a technical mandate, and is responsible for running the state.

What will the new government focus on?

The Student List has made tackling corruption and restoring the rule of law its central priorities.

Its programme includes strengthening the independence of the judiciary, reducing political influence over the media and investigating allegations of corruption involving public officials and state contracts.

It has also proposed changes to the police, including the creation of an independent unit accountable to prosecutors rather than the interior ministry.

Other plans include transparent, merit-based appointments to state-owned companies, greater scrutiny of major infrastructure projects and measures to recover illegally acquired wealth.

The movement says money recovered through anti-corruption efforts could be redirected towards public services and economic development.

It has also promised improvements in education and healthcare, including free school textbooks, cheaper medicines and affordable housing for young couples, teachers and healthcare workers.

The movement wants to reduce the influence of retail monopolies to bring down food prices, change the tax system to ease the burden on lower-income households and strengthen workers’ rights.

The new government will have to balance its promises to improve living standards with the need to maintain economic stability and investor confidence.

Much will depend on whether it can implement reforms while navigating the existing state bureaucracy and public institutions.

Will Serbia move closer to the European Union?

The Student List has pledged to continue Serbia’s EU accession process, but it is not yet clear how quickly it will seek to advance membership.

Srdanovic told RFE that the new government would continue European integration and focus on reforms needed to bring Serbia closer to EU standards.

He singled out judicial independence, human rights, the rule of law and media freedom as priorities, arguing that these had been major obstacles to progress under the previous administration.

Serbia has been an EU candidate country since 2012, but its accession negotiations have made limited progress in recent years. Brussels has repeatedly called for reforms to strengthen democratic institutions and for Belgrade to align its foreign policy more closely with the bloc.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU is ready to support reforms in areas including the rule of law and media freedom.

However, the Student List has not committed to a fundamental change in Serbia’s foreign policy. During the campaign, its candidates argued that domestic reforms should come first.

The movement has also said citizens should be better informed about the benefits of EU membership before the country makes a definitive decision on joining the bloc.

What will happen to Serbia’s relations with Russia?

Serbia has maintained close historical, political and economic ties with Moscow, particularly in the energy sector. It has not imposed sanctions on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, despite pressure from the EU to align with its foreign policy.

The Student List has indicated that it does not intend to introduce sanctions. But Srdanovic has suggested that Serbia’s future relationship with Russia should be discussed openly and that public debate on the issue should change, which may come with reducing the influence of the country’s pro-Putin tabloids.

Energy security will constrain the government’s choices. Russia remains a major supplier of natural gas to Serbia, while the Russian stake in oil company NIS has been at the centre of a dispute involving US sanctions.

The new government will need to ensure continued access to energy while managing relations with Moscow, Washington and Brussels.

It’s a possibility that external pressure from the EU, and the promise of a clearer path to membership, could eventually lead Belgrade to change its stance on sanctions or other measures against Russia.

Will the new government change policy on Kosovo?

The Student List has said it will continue dialogue with Kosovo, but various statements of its candidates during the campaign suggests that progress towards normalising relations will remain difficult.

Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008 and continues to regard the territory as part of its own state.

The EU-mediated Brussels Agreement, signed in 2013, established a framework for normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Srdanovic has said a new government would continue the dialogue and respect international agreements signed by the previous administration. However, he has also said that agreements could be reviewed to determine whether they comply with Serbia’s constitution.

The Student List has emphasised the need to protect the rights of Kosovo Serbs and maintain Serbian-supported institutions providing services such as healthcare and education.

Its approach suggests that dialogue will continue, but there is little evidence so far of a willingness to make major concessions on the status of Kosovo.

What happens to Aleksandar Vucic?

Vucic has dominated Serbian politics since 2014, first as prime minister and later as president.

His resignation as president on September 27 paved the way for the snap parliamentary election, which he contested through the United Serbia list as its candidate for prime minister.

Although his party has lost the election, he is likely to remain influential in Serbian politics as the figurehead of the opposition. The SNS retains a significant number of seats in parliament and will be eager to exploit any signs of weakness in the new government. 

Brnabic is temporarily performing the duties of president, and a presidential election must be held by December 27, three months after Vucic’s resignation.

The Serbian presidency is formally a largely ceremonial office, with executive authority resting primarily with the government. Under Vucic, however, the presidency became the centre of political power. 

The Student List has proposed a lustration law, which could restrict public office for certain people associated with abuses of power. How such a law would be designed and implemented remains to be seen.

Srdanovic has called for avoiding political revenge, saying the movement wants to break with the previous system without resorting to retribution.

Can the Student List deliver on its promises?

The election has given the Student List a strong parliamentary mandate, but it has not yet demonstrated how it will govern.

Its broad coalition includes people from different professional backgrounds and political perspectives. That diversity helped it attract support from voters who wanted change, but it may also make it harder to agree on difficult decisions.

The movement will have to select ministers, establish clear policy priorities and work with institutions that have operated under the previous government for years.

Its promises to investigate corruption, reform the police and strengthen judicial independence could also face resistance from people whose positions or interests are threatened by change.

There are questions, too, about the role of advisers and outside experts in shaping the new administration, and how the government will balance domestic demands for reform with pressure from international partners.