Serbia's streets ERUPT after conservative leader concedes election defeat to student-led movement

Serbia's streets have erupted after its long-standing conservative leader conceded the election to a student-led movement.Aleksandar Vučić, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), admitted it was "clear that we have lost these elections".Mr Vučić has been a dominant figure in Serbian politics since 2012, and has ruled as either President or Prime Minister since 2014.But he was forced to call a snap parliamentary election after almost two years of protests against perceived corruption and authoritarianism, triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Moments after he conceded, thousands of young people flooded Belgrade's streets, lighting flares and setting fires in celebration.The youth-led movement ran in the parliamentary elections under the name Student List – Students Are Winning.The victory came as a series of riots, which began as youth protests in Paris, swept Europe.Movements across the continent may look to the Student List as a model for crystallising unrest into meaningful power.Despite its name, the movement's candidates are academics, professionals, and public figures, selected by student plenums.The anti-corruption movement has no direct leader, but its lead candidate was Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist and professor at the University of Novi Sad who publicly supported student demonstrations.Mr Vučić said he expected the students to hold between 135 and 140 seats of the 250-seat parliament at the final count, while his SNS would hold 105, based on early results.Student List candidate Radomir Sajcic, a professor at Belgrade University, said: "Tonight the voice of the people is being heard.STUDENT MOVEMENTS ACROSS EUROPE:French Prime Minister calls for social media blackout as CHAOS spreads throughout EuropeBBC STILL calling France riots 'peaceful' as police use water cannons and tear gas and arrest 1,000‘Weekend of reckoning’ in France as over 70,000 police officers deployed to combat mass protests"Tonight we celebrate victory, tomorrow we build the future."Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, quickly congratulated the students on their victory.While Serbia is not a member of the EU, she said the bloc was ready to "support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom, the fight against corruption and strong democratic institutions".Trams and traffic on Belgrade's streets came to a complete stop after the concession as students joined in celebration.Milica, a law student, told Reuters it was the "best thing that happened in my life".Another young person, waving a flag in joy, said Serbia had "defeated a dictator!"Dejan Soskic, a former central bank governor and a candidate of the Student List, urged supporters to maintain order and peace during the jubilation.The group of inexperienced candidates will soon be tasked with fulfilling the students' anti-corruption agenda.The Student List's manifesto urges Government transparency, purging officials who broke rules while cracking down on protesters, the release of media from party control, and banning party loyalists from leading public sector enterprises.Questions will now rise over the ability of the inexperienced politicians to lead both domestically and on the world stage.Radivoje Grujic, a Warsaw-based election consultant, told Reuters: "The biggest uncertainty is...who is going to lead the government, who will be the key ministers, and how they will operate based on the promises they made to fight corruption, to reintroduce the rule of law, but also to re-establish Serbia's position in foreign policy." Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter