Serbia's Student List Wins Power After Hungarian Model

Serbia's Student List won 140 of 250 seats in the parliamentary election held last Sunday, ousting President Aleksandar Vučić after 14 years in power. The result followed Viktor Orbán's defeat in Hungary on April 12, where Pétér Magyar's Tisza party captured 140 seats in the 199-seat parliament. Turnout reached 69 percent in Serbia and 79 percent in Hungary.

Both campaigns drew heavily on young voters who used artificial intelligence tools to analyze data and identify polling districts where past results suggested irregularities. The DE civic action group in Hungary sent 70 monitors to Serbia's Vojvodina province to work with student representatives. The groups held workshops over the summer to share methods developed during Hungary's election.

Péter Klemm, a student activist from Subotica, said masked supporters of Vučić gathered near voting stations after 16:00 on election day. He said his group dispatched mobile teams to film the gatherings. Klemm said 20 to 30 volunteers at each threatened station deterred intimidation or fraud.

Vučić conceded at 21:30 on Sunday, the same minute Orbán conceded on April 12. Reports this week indicated Vučić contacted Orbán twice that night, including at 23:15. Vučić denies speaking to Orbán before his concession but confirms the later call. Orbán declined comment when reached by the BBC.

Masked groups appeared at polling stations in central Belgrade an hour before polls closed, and similar groups were photographed at other stations during voting. Election monitors blocked those gatherings.

Both former leaders held power for extended periods. Orbán, 63, served 16 years; Vučić, 56, served 14. Serbia's special prosecution service for organised crime, JTOK, and Hungary's new special prosecutors, NVVH, hold similar powers. Orbán and Vučić may face prosecution for corruption and abuse of power.

Hungarian companies close to Orbán participated in construction of the Novi Sad railway station. The canopy collapse there on November 1, 2024 killed 16 people and prompted the Serbian student movement. The Student List's Ilija Srdanović said the Hungarian election result showed his group was pursuing the right approach. Magyar said that Tisza's story could serve as an inspiration to other nations.