Student List wins Serbian election in political earthquake as Vučić concedes defeat

Serbia's student list declared victory in parliamentary elections on Sunday, ending 14 years of power for long-time leader Aleksandar Vučić In a brief statement to the nation, Vučić conceded defeat and announced that student list won between 135 and 140 seats in parliament, with his party set to receive 105. The victory comes after nearly two years of student-led anti-government protests. protests. Most of student list's candidates are experts from fields including academia and the arts, with little political experience, who built a platform centered on a pledge to fight corruption. Students have won. And with them, I hope that Serbia can be a land of justice, freedom and independence. May this night be the beginning of a new revolution, a revolution in which we will not divide into winners and losers. Almost immediately, crowds flooded the streets of the capital Belgrade and other Serbian cities in an outburst of euphoric celebration. Voters cast ballots in huge numbers on Sunday, with the country recording its highest parliamentary election turnout in more than three decades. Domestic and international observers were monitoring the vote, with students mobilizing large numbers of volunteers to oversee the process. Vucic, who had close ties with Russia and denounced the student movement as a foreign-led attempt to unseat him, led with virtually absolute power for 14 years.