Vucic said on Sunday that, based on a sample of votes, the Student List was expected to win between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, compared with 105 for his electoral list.

While stating that final results were not yet available, the populist leader said, “It is clear that we have lost these elections.”

His announcement was greeted with cheers, euphoria and tears at the Student List headquarters, according to the Belgrade-based FoNet news agency.

“Preliminary results show that students are convincingly leading in almost all polling stations,” Radomir Saicic, a parliamentary candidate for the Students’ List, said in a speech at the movement’s election headquarters.

“Students won, and with them also a hope that Serbia can be a country of justice, freedom and dignity,” he added. “Let this night be the beginning of a new chapter.”

Voting to determine whether Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has governed since 2012, could retain power against a movement born from nationwide anticorruption protests, ended at 8pm local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday.

The State Election Commission said that by 6pm (17:00 GMT), voter turnout had reached 64.9 percent, ⁠⁠⁠⁠the ⁠⁠⁠⁠highest since ⁠⁠⁠⁠the breakup ‌‌‌‌of Yugoslavia in ‌‌‌‌1992.

University of Belgrade researcher Jelena Vasiljevic told Al Jazeera in an interview published on Friday that the SNS had a reliable voter base, while the students needed to attract people who normally did not vote.

Sunday’s voting was also marred by reports of intimidation and procedural problems.

The Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), an independent election watchdog, said its observers recorded pressure on voters or election workers at almost a third of the 500 polling stations it monitored.

It also reported failures to protect ballot secrecy.

By 5pm (16:00 GMT), the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), an election-monitoring group, had received about 260 reports of potential irregularities, including ballot photography, group voting and difficulties with identification checks.

Celebrations erupted across Serbia, with fireworks lighting the sky almost immediately after Vucic’s announcement conceding defeat. Tens of thousands crowded Belgrade’s main roads as supporters of the Student List drove around in cars, honking their horns.

Serbians chanted, “Aleksandar is gone”, and sang the student movement’s songs. Crowds dismantled tents set up at a park in central Belgrade, where Vucic’s loyalists had been camping for more than a year.

“It means freedom from a dictatorship that has lasted for 12 years, that I cannot remember a time before,” voter Jana Vasic told Al Jazeera. “I’m not completely sure what our candidates will do first, but I think first for tonight, we’ll celebrate. And then tomorrow, the real hard work starts.”

Belgrade resident Dragana Kovecevic told the Associated Press news agency that she was thrilled that “everyone greets with smiles”. She added: “We are all too happy; finally, we are becoming one normal and free country.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the Student List on its election victory, writing on X: “We stand ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom, the fight against corruption and strong democratic institutions, and to work together to advance Serbia’s future in the European Union.”

In Belgrade, as the election took place, police wearing riot helmets and carrying shields were deployed near the election commission’s headquarters, where roads were closed and barricades erected.

City prosecutors appealed on Sunday for everyone involved in the election to avoid violence.

The election follows nearly two years of student-led protests that began after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people.

Demands for accountability widened into a movement against alleged government corruption and repression. Vucic and the SNS deny the accusations.

The Student List – Students Win, which emerged from demonstrations, fielded candidates drawn from professions including medicine and education, many of whom have no political experience.

The movement campaigned for stronger institutions and an end to corruption.

Some established opposition parties backed the students rather than fielding their own candidates.

Vucic resigned as president in September to run for prime minister, promising higher pensions, public-sector wages and investment.

Supporters credit his leadership with modernizing Serbia’s economy.

About 6.5 million people were eligible to vote for 250 parliamentary seats, with 18 electoral lists competing. A majority of 126 seats is needed to form government.