Serbia's Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) has confirmed preliminary results that give the Student List a majority in the 250-seat National Assembly. The commission set the figures at a session on October 26, based on 97.56% of polling stations, according to the commission's own notice and a Serbian government summary. A day later, former President Aleksandar Vučić, who led the losing list, said the new government would be hostile to Serbian interests.
The preliminary count
| List | Votes | Share | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student List | 2,267,615 | 52.71% | 140 |
| Aleksandar Vučić, United Serbia | 1,685,022 | 39.17% | 104 |
| Ivica Dačić, Factor of Stability | 93,280 | 2.17% | 0 |
| Four national minority lists | 95,375 combined | 2.22% combined | 6 |
The figures are as of 8 p.m. on October 26 and come from the RIK, as published by the government. The minority seats went to the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (2), the Albanian Coalition (2), Rasim Ljajić's Humane list (1) and the SDA of Sandžak (1). According to the commission's chair, Vladimir Dimitrijević, 4,301,985 people voted. Of those ballots, 4,246,513 were valid and 55,472 were invalid.
Lists representing national minorities are exempt from Serbia's 3% threshold, which is why some won seats with less than 1% of the vote. A separate projection from the Belgrade-based Centre for Free Elections and Democracy, a monitoring group, put the Student List at 141 seats and Vučić's party at 103, the Guardian reported. The final split may shift by a seat or two.
Background
Vučić stepped down as president in September to run for prime minister, the government's news service reported at the time. He conceded defeat late on election night, October 25, according to the Guardian. The Student List grew out of two years of protests that began after a canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad railway station, killing 16 people.
What each side says
The Student List. The movement has no single leader and has not named a candidate for prime minister. Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist, headed its candidate list. Candidate Ana Mirković told the Guardian that the first priority was the "social and psychological detoxification" of the country. Its platform pledges an independent police unit that answers to prosecutors rather than the interior ministry. It also proposes a ban on appointing party loyalists to state companies and public review of major infrastructure contracts. The movement kept relations with the EU and Russia in the background during the campaign, the Guardian reported.
Vučić and his party. In an October 27 interview with TV Informer, reported by the state news agency Tanjug, Vučić said the new government would be "nakedly anti-Serbian" (our translation). He predicted it would impose sanctions on Russia and reverse positions Serbia had taken at the UN General Assembly. He also said the Student List lacked anyone with serious political experience. He said his party was ready to talk with "all people of good will" and was confident it would return to power. On election night, he blamed his defeat on support for his opponents from "various European countries and the US deep state," the Guardian reported.
Weighing the claims
Several of these statements are predictions or charges that cannot yet be checked. The Student List has not announced a foreign policy program. Vučić's forecast that it will sanction Russia is therefore his expectation, not a stated plan. He also said he already knew who the new foreign minister would be, but he did not name the person. His claim of foreign backing for his opponents was made without evidence that 567politics could find.
The same test applies to the winners. The Student List's pledges describe aims, and the movement has not yet shown how a group without a hierarchy will choose ministers or settle internal disputes. Nikola Burazer of the Centre for Contemporary Politics told the Guardian its decision-making process needed to "be sped up." These questions will be tested once a government is formed.
The timeline for a new government
Under Serbia's constitution, the new assembly must convene within 30 days of the official result. A government must then be formed within 90 days, the Guardian reported. Because Vučić resigned, a presidential election must also be held before December 27. How we source and check election figures is described in our methodology.
This AI-assisted report was prepared on October 28, 2026, from the sources linked above. Quotations from Serbian are translations by 567politics where marked.
Photo and reporting note
File image for institutional context, not a photograph of the events reported here. Photo: kallerna, original file, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped for publication. The adapted photo remains available under the same license.
