Serbia voter turnout highest in decades as students oppose longtime leader

Election commission says turnout reaches 65% amid allegations of intimidation, violence and voting irregularities.Published On 25 Oct 202625 Oct 2026Polls have closed in Serbia’s snap parliamentary election, which saw the highest voter turnout in decades, with a student-backed movement seeking to unseat longtime leader Aleksandar Vucic.Voting ended at 8pm local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday, with first indications of the result expected a few hours later.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2Serbia votes in election pitting longtime leader against student movementlist 2 of 2Serbia votes as student-led bloc challenges longtime leader Vucicend of listThe vote will determine whether Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has governed since 2012, can retain power against a movement born from nationwide anticorruption protests.The State Election Commission said that voter turnout had reached 64.9 percent by 17:00GMT, ⁠⁠the ⁠⁠highest since ⁠⁠the breakup ‌‌of Yugoslavia in ‌‌1992.The higher turnout does not show which side gained support.University of Belgrade researcher Jelena Vasiljevic told Al Jazeera in an interview published on Friday that the SNS had a reliable voter ba...