Overview
- On Thursday an independent count put the Students' list closing rally in Belgrade at about 150,000 people, marking the campaign peak three days before the Oct. 25 parliamentary vote.
- Opinion polls show a neck‑and‑neck race between Vučić’s SNS and the Students' list, making a narrow result likely and increasing the risk of post‑vote maneuvering to keep power.
- The Students' list runs about 250 non‑career politicians and experts who campaign to remove party control from the police, judiciary and media oversight and to publish state contracts.
- Civil society groups and reporters documented intimidation, arrests, one‑off cash transfers to voters and other irregularities during the campaign, raising concerns that state resources could be used to skew the count.
- The movement began after the Nov. 2024 Novi Sad canopy collapse that killed 16 people and now offers voters a clear choice between anti‑corruption institutional reform and continuation of Vučić’s consolidated control, with consequences for Serbia’s rule of law and EU prospects.