"I will not run away" - A bewildered Vučić reacts after the election debacle

Aleksandar Vučić has admitted the defeat of the coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the snap parliamentary elections held on Sunday, October 25, confirming that the Student List has emerged as the winner of the election race.

At a press conference from the SNS headquarters, Vučić stated that, although the final results have not yet been published, preliminary data clearly show that his coalition has lost its parliamentary majority.

"We do not have final results. Many will be surprised and you will understand how much some have lied and what they have fabricated. I want to inform you that the list of blocking students has won. They will have between 135 and 140 mandates, while we have about 105," Vučić declared.

According to him, the Student List secured around 2.2 million votes, while the coalition led by the SNS received approximately 1.72 million votes.

In the new Parliament of Serbia, according to Vučić's assessments, minority communities are also expected to be represented, including the Alliance of Hungarians of Vojvodina with three mandates and Albanian parties from the Preševo ​​Valley with one mandate.

Despite the defeat, Vučić stated that his party remains united and prepared to continue political activity from the opposition.

"Some businessmen, some people will leave us now, but our structure is very stable. We are very united, very strong; we have learned from being in opposition," he declared.

He rejected claims that he would leave the country if he lost power, accusing political opponents of spreading lies.

Vucic also claimed that his coalition had won the support of the majority of Serb voters in Kosovo, Republika Srpska, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

"We won in Kosovo among the Serbs and I know that for many people tonight it is difficult. We will fight and show what the opposition is, proud of everything we have done," he said.

High participation and reports of irregularities

The early parliamentary elections in Serbia concluded at 20:00 PM, while the vote counting process began immediately after the closing of polling stations.

According to the Republican Election Commission (RIK), turnout by 18:00 PM reached 64.89 percent, significantly higher compared to the 51.93 percent recorded at the same time during the December 2023 parliamentary elections.

In these elections, 6.451.292 citizens were eligible to vote, while 18 electoral lists, with a total of 2.418 candidates, competed for 250 seats in the Parliament of Serbia.

Particularly high turnout was recorded in Novi Sad, with 68.97 percent, and in Niš, with 69.09 percent of voters by 18:00 p.m.

However, the electoral process was accompanied by incidents and suspicions of irregularities in several cities.

Observers reported over 300 cases of possible irregularities, including photographing ballots, problems with voter lists, family voting, and obstruction of observers' work.

Suspicions of vote buying and the use of parallel voter lists were reported in Novi Sad, while police intervened in several locations.

Meanwhile, in Doljevac, the voting process was temporarily halted after a citizen allegedly attempted to vote using several identification documents.

The result announced by Vučić marks an important turning point in the Serbian political scene, paving the way for the Student List to form a new parliamentary majority and placing the SNS in the face of moving into opposition after more than a decade in power.