Blog opening: Serbia's strongman Vučić faces sternest test of his 12-year rule
Dobro veče, or good evening, and welcome to our live coverage of Serbian election night.
The grassroots protest movement, the Student List, is taking on the country’s increasingly authoritarian leader, Aleksandar Vučić, in what is shaping up to be the sternest test of his 12-year grip on power.
The vote is a culmination of two years of student-led protests triggered by the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy in November 2024, which killed 16 people and uncovered massive government and institutional corruption.
The bottom-up leaderless movement, with 250 candidates democratically elected from people with limited political experience but distinguished professional careers, seeks to end Vučić’s rule and rewire the state, with focus on fighting alleged corruption, clientelism and power abuses of the past.
Polls opened at 7am (6am UK time) and close at 8pm (7pm UK time). Until then, we’ll bring you all the key background, explain why it matters for Europe, Ukraine, and you, and give you a flavour of the chatter in the queues outside polling stations from Belgrade to London.
I will also keep one eye on the first round of the presidential election in Bulgaria, so expect an odd update on this or two on this.
Ready? Let’s go. Ajde.
It’s Sunday, 25 October 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good evening.