Serbia's pro-Russian former leader urges supporters to avoid 'killings' after defeat

Serbia's long-serving pro-Russian leader has urged his supporters to avoid "killings" after he conceded defeat to a student-led movement at the election.

The highly contested vote on Sunday saw the Balkan country's pro-Russian leader, Aleksandar Vucic, dealt a blow by a diverse student-led opposition movement.

His opponents, the youth-backed Students' List, spent almost two years protesting his government, that he had led for 14 years.

He had been endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and denounced the student movement as a foreign-led attempt to unseat him.

When he announced he was conceding, Mr Vucic said: "I do not want unrest, I do not want killings, I do not want anything like that on the streets.

"We never wanted that, unlike them. They destroyed two years of life in this country; they will succeed in destroying more."

He also blamed his defeat on a "revolution that was made up of support directly from different European countries and the deep American state, the one that is against President Trump".

Lines snaked out of polling stations in cities across Serbia, as the country reported a voter turnout of 70%, the highest since the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1992.

When Mr Vucic announced he was conceding after polls closed at 8pm, the streets of Belgrade erupted into celebration, with car horns blaring and supporters shouting "victory" and "he's done".

The Students' List was said to have won 2.2 million votes, and Mr Vucic's SNS 1.7 million.

Radomir Sajcic, a professor at Belgrade ‌University speaking on behalf of the students at their headquarters, said: "Dear ⁠Serbia, tonight the voice of the people is being heard.

"Tonight we celebrate victory, tomorrow we build the future."

The contest was called in September by Mr Vucic, who resigned from his second term as president to run to be prime minister again.

It comes after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism, sparked by the ​deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in 2024.

Youth protests demanded accountability for the disaster as well as justice for the victims, and the students have gained widespread support in the Balkan country, which has a population of more than six million.

The victory of Students' List, led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, represents a big political shift in Serbia, reminiscent of the defeat of Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban in April.

Though the movement was shaped by university students, none actually appeared on the election list. Instead, its candidates were little-known experts, athletes, farmers and artists.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the Student List on their win, declaring that Serbian voters had "turned out in record numbers to shape their country's future".

"We stand ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom, the fight against corruption and strong democratic institutions, and to work together to advance Serbia's future in the European Union," she said in a post on X.

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Serbia's relations with the EU had been strained under Mr Vucic, as the bloc ​becomes more frustrated with the country's lack of reforms over the judiciary, rule of law and corruption.

The victory offers a blueprint for other student movements across Europe, which have recently taken to the streets to protest, in some cases violently, against poor education standards.

Mr Vucic has had a firm grip on power and many Serbians backed him after a period ⁠of modernisation including new highways, railways, schools and hospitals.

He was first deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2014, then prime minister between 2014 and 2017 before becoming president after that until he quit last month as he called the election.

On the domestic front, Mr Vucic has pledged to improve pensions and public sector salaries, invest in public healthcare and subsidies for ‌young couples.

While on the international stage, he has balanced closer links with major investor China and traditional ally and main natural gas supplier Russia, while being open to joining the EU.

The students' domestic agenda aims to improve education, but ‌they have been quieter on their international ambitions.

(c) Sky News 2026: Serbia's pro-Russian former leader urges supporters to avoid 'killings' after defeat