Student-Backed List Fields 250 Candidates as Serbia Elections Face Turnout Uncertainty

Instead of running for office themselves, student-led assemblies at universities across the country selected 250 candidates to contest the parliamentary election, with Ilija Srdanović, a professor at Novi Sad University, leading the list.

The student slate also includes doctors, actors, academics, and sports personalities.

“These are people who have not met one another, and their political views are not known,” Korać said. “We now expect them to form a functioning government, so what happens after they win is hard to predict.”

He added that if Vučić declares victory late that evening, he doubted the students would accept the result.

Korać suggested that several former loyalists in Vučić’s high office could switch sides at the last moment if the students prevail. A close result, however, with both sides claiming victory, could lead to weeks or months of political instability.

The electorate numbers 6.45 million in a population of 6.53 million, raising questions about the reliability of the electoral roll. Serbs from Kosovo and dual Serbian citizens from neighboring Bosnia also have the right to vote.

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