Wild scenes of celebration in Belgrade as Vučić concedes Serbian election – Europe live

Hungary’s prime minister Péter Magyar – who came to power ousting Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power – is among the very first European leaders to offer his congratulations to the Student List.

In a post on X, he says:

“I have just spoken by phone with the leaders of the Students’ List @studentblokade, who won the elections in Serbia, to congratulate them on their victory. I assured them of Hungary’s support.

I was delighted to hear how much strength our victory in April had given them during this difficult struggle.”

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

“I think this is a moment we will remember for the rest of our lives,” Sara, 24, says as she smiles with her friends.

“It’s simply the realisation of our dream. And it’s very strange that on the very streets where the police beat us, on the streets where we retreated countless times in the face of the gendarmerie, we are now standing here as the victors.”

She continues:

“I think this is a victory for everything we stood for, for all the values we promoted through the student movement. And I’m very glad that we’ve proven that Serbia only wins when the students win.”

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

Ivana, 43, is equally ecstatic.

“This feels like New Year’s Eve to me, like three New Year’s Eves all at once, really. We can finally breathe again.”

She says she is hoping for swift accountability for key members of the ousted regime.

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

“After 14 years, we finally feel freedom again,” Nemanja, 29, says when we start chatting amid celebrations in Belgrade.

“We feel that justice will come and that this will become a beautiful and good country, where people can get ahead through their own knowledge and abilities.”

Speaking at the Student List’s election night party, chemist Radomir Saičić had one of the strongest speeches as he thanked all who cast their votes in today’s election.

But he said “tonight is about more than just the results: it is about the people who kept believing when things where at their hardest, who refused to give up, to believe that nothing could ever change.”

He calls it “a victory of courage over fear; of hope over indifference; and of conviction that Serbia can, and must, be different.”

He says the victory “is not a personal trophy; does not belong to any of us,” and brings about “great responsibility” for all those in the new parliamentary majority.

“Tonight we have shown that change is not only possible, but that there is a will for it. Now we must prove ourselves worthy of the trust we have been given. …

Tonight, we celebrate in the way Serbia knows to do best: with song, dance, embraces, and tears of joy. And tomorrow? Tomorrow, the work begins.”

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

In pretty moving scenes, some people offer handshakes, high fives and even bear hugs to police officers as they stand aside from blocking the streets, despite earlier concerns about a potential mobilisation of security forces.

The crowd is now moving towards Slavija square, where they held their final pre-election on Thursday.

Crta’s projection is very similar to that of Ipsos/CeSIR (21:43): it puts the Student List at 51.2% with 134 seats in the new parliament, well clear of the 126 required for the majority.

Vučić’s list is in the second place with 40.4% of the vote and 106 seats.

10 seats are expected to go to minority groups, including three seats each for Hungarians and Albanians.

If you’re planning a trip to Belgrade in the coming days, I hope you like enthusiastic street dancing, red flares and brass bands.

And you can quickly pick up new chants to join in.

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

Lara, 43, is absolutely overjoyed.

“I feel like I’m in some kind of dream, and I simply still can’t believe this has happened. I’m overjoyed, but at the same time I’m afraid it will be like after 5 October [when Milošević lost in 2000].

(See how the Guardian reported these events at the time here:)

I would really like things to be the way the students said they would be, for a thorough reform to be carried out in this country, for there to be a deep clean, in the literal sense [of institutions], for everyone who needs to be held accountable to be held accountable, and for a system to be created that will be stronger than any individual.

We deserve a country like that.”

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

Stanislava, 47, is visibly moved by the result as we speak on the streets of Belgrade.

“I can’t believe Vučić has admitted defeat. There you have it, the students are winning. No – they’ve won. The students have won it!”

In his concession speech, Vučić said that while “we do not have the final result,” “it is clear that we have lost these elections” based on the sample results from some polling stations.

He revealed no other major party will enter the parliament, but there would be some national minority parties, which are likely to get five seats.

In his speech, he also repeatedly accused his rival of lies, and appeared to once again imply an element of foreign interference.

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

Vučić’s concession prompts wild scenes of celebration here in Belgrade.

Some are still in disbelief. “This was kind of easy, no?,” they laugh.

We are just getting the first Ipsos/CeSID projection, which shows the Student List well ahead on 52%, with Vučić’s list on mere 39.3%.

They are projected to have 138 seats in the new parliament, well clear of the 126 required for majority, to Vučić’s 104.

That’s via the N1 broadcaster.

Did you have that on your bingo?

Vučić appears to concede the election.

He says he is expecting the Student List to have a majority in the new parliament, well clear of the 126 required to govern, and his SNS will have only 105 mandates.

Wow. What a moment.

Serbia’s former president and list leader Aleksandar Vučić is expected to speak in the next few minutes, according to the Serbian state broadcaster, RTS.

Let’s see what he has to say.

For what it’s worth, he told reporters earlier today:

“I’m expecting a huge turnout, of course, democratic will to be expressed by Serbian people, and as I was always saying, if we lose, we’ll concede it, if we win, we’ll keep it as it is, and that’s it.”

He later added:

“We’ll see whether I’ll be in the opposition or in power. We will see tonight.”

Head of the CRTA monitoring mission Raša Nedeljkov spoke about the restrictions in accessing the electoral commission on his press conference just moments ago (20:18).

“We noticed that, for the first time ever in history, access to the Republican Electoral Commission is blocked to the electors. As a citizen, you cannot go to the Electoral Commission and file complaints. You cannot come close to the building, which is… very worrying.”

During his briefing, he also got repeatedly asked about the view of the international observers, but declined to comment, saying that it’s up to them to declare it at their press conference tomorrow.

But he eventually says:

“I do regret that we are in a situations that the members of the European Parliament need police security to be able to move around Belgrade in Serbia. This is an illustration, a litmus test of the freedoms existing [here].”

Ana Milosavljevic

in Belgrade

Some excited people are gathering near the closed off electoral commission, shouting the students’ slogan “pumpaj” and “he’s finished!” to honking cars passing by.

Let’s see if that’s not premature.

Alicia Kearns, former chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, is the latest politician to sound the alarm over the potentially escalating climate in Serbia.

Writing on X, she said:

“Scenes from Serbia are deeply concerning and fears are escalating. The Government has a duty to keep all citizens safe, and ensure there is no climate of intimidation or use of military threat against citizens.

The UK Govt & EU must ensure the Serbian Government is in no doubt that peace must be upheld.”