Aleksandar Vučić said that Student List had won the most seats in the election, based on a stratified sample.
“We don’t have the results. Many people will be surprised, and you will realise just how much some people have lied. Based on a stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost this election,” Vučić said.
Celebration have already begun on the streets of Belgrade.
Snap parliamentary elections were held in Serbia today amidst a backdrop of intense political tension, following nearly two years of widespread student-led anti-corruption protests and significant public mobilization, representing one of the most substantial challenges to the ruling administration in over a decade.
The limited polling available suggested a tight contest between the ruling Serbian Progressive Party and its main challenger, the Student List.
According to the Crta election observation mission, as much as 67.8 % of voters had cast their ballots by 7:00 i.e. over 12 percentage points higher than at the same time in both 2022 and 2023.
Widespread photographing of ballot papers, suspected pressure on voters and cases of voting without valid identification or on behalf of others marked election day in Serbia, according to CRTA’s observation mission.
At the press conference, CRTA programme director Raša Nedeljkov warned that scrutiny would remain crucial as the process moved to counting votes and reporting results.
Voters were seen photographing ballot papers at half of polling stations across Serbia and 80% of those in Belgrade, CRTA programme director Raša Nedeljkov said, warning of an unprecedented scale of practices that could be linked to pressure on voters.
Nedeljkov said observers could not establish whether voters were photographing their ballots voluntarily or under pressure. However, given the intimidation documented in the months and years before election day, CRTA believed the practice was closely linked to voters being coerced.
Voting without valid identification was recorded at 8% of polling stations, while people voting on behalf of others were observed at 13%. Observers also reported cases of vote buying, multiple voting and polling board members directly violating ballot secrecy.
Unauthorised individuals were present at polling stations, particularly during the first part of the day, further undermining the secrecy of the vote. Nedeljkov also noted that polling board members representing opposition lists had identified and intervened to prevent irregularities, sometimes leading to confrontations.
The findings cover voting up to 20:00. Nedeljkov stressed that observers would continue monitoring the count, the processing of results and their submission to local electoral commissions and the Republic Electoral Commission.
He warned that counting could be slow, citing earlier instances in which the work of polling boards had been obstructed.
Students have urged Belgrade residents on social media to avoid gathering near locations where an increased presence of police and individuals in plain clothes has been observed.
“Let us remain safe, peaceful and dignified until the end,” they said.
The appeal comes amid a heightened police presence in central Belgrade. Riot police have been stationed outside the Republic Electoral Commission, while gendarmerie vehicles equipped for crowd control have been parked near the Presidency.
Meanwhile, tents are being replaced in the pro-government encampment in Pionirski Park, known as “Ćacilend”. Media reports have also described growing numbers of men dressed in black gathering in the park.
Voter turnout reached 67.8% by 19:00, according to CRTA’s election observation mission.
This is 12.3 percentage points higher than at the same time in 2023, when turnout stood at 55.5%, and 12.7 points higher than in 2022, when it was 55.1%.
Police have been deployed in central Belgrade, with gendarmerie vehicles equipped for riot control parked at the main entrance to the Presidency, next to Pionirski Park, according to N1 and Danas.
Riot police are stationed outside the Republic Electoral Commission (REC), while gendarmerie officers have also been seen near public broadcaster RTS. Crowd-control vehicles were earlier filmed passing through a police cordon at the intersection of Kneza Miloša and Kralja Milana streets, heading towards Terazije.
The pro-government tent camp in Pionirski Park, known as “Ćacilend”, is being dismantled and replaced. Footage published by Mašina showed trucks bringing equipment into the fenced-off park, where tents were being erected with police present. Belgrade weekly Vreme reports that increasing numbers of men dressed in black are gathering there.
Journalists’ accreditations near the commission are being checked without an official explanation, and some crews have been denied access, N1 and Danas reported
Voter turnout stood at 64.89% by 18:00, the Republic Electoral Commission (REC) announced.
By 18:00, turnout had already exceeded the final turnout in 2023 (59.3%) by 5.59 percentage points.
Turnout remained highest in Vojvodina at 66.90%, followed by Belgrade at 65.67%, Šumadija and Western Serbia at 64.53%, and Southern and Eastern Serbia at 62.71%.
The EU ambassador to Serbia expressed deep concern over reports of violent incidents at several polling stations, urging all actors to remain calm and refrain from violence and provocations.
“Serbian citizens need to be able to exercise their democratic right to vote in a peaceful and safe environment,” the ambassador wrote on X.
The ambassador called on all actors to act responsibly and urged the competent institutions to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the electoral process.
This is the first reaction from an EU official on election day.
A European Parliament delegation is also observing Serbia’s snap parliamentary election.
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) announced that it strongly condemns the ban on entry into Serbia of Denis Mahmutović, a journalist from the Croatian portal Telegram, and Marko Miščević, a photographer, who tried to enter the country to report on the elections, and were prevented from doing so on the grounds that they posed a security threat.
“We also condemn the ban on entry to the ALSAT TV journalist team from North Macedonia – editor Adrian Kerimi, journalist Zekirija Haxhiu and cameraman Besim Shkreta, who were turned back from the border crossing near Preševo on the grounds that they did not have accreditations. The Serbian police did not want to allow the ALSAT TV crew to enter even when they were told that they did not need accreditations, because they did not intend to report from polling stations or election headquarters”, the statement reads.
Widespread voting irregularities, pressure on voters and escalating violence could have a significant impact on the outcome of Serbia’s closely contested election, CRTA’s election observation mission warned at the press conference.
Presenting findings from a representative sample of 500 polling stations, CRTA reported pressure on voters or polling board members at around one-third of stations. Procedural irregularities were recorded at 18%, while irregularities affecting the integrity of voting were reported at 17%.
Voters photographing ballot papers were observed at 40% of polling stations, up from 25% earlier in the day.
Failures to use UV lamps or marking spray were recorded at around one in five stations, undermining safeguards against multiple voting.
Unauthorised individuals were present at 5% of polling stations. At the same proportion of stations, polling board members or election observers were seen actively suggesting how voters should vote.
CRTA also reported incidents targeting its observation mission. In Zemun, a group of five or six men surrounded, harassed and intimidated a female observer. In Kragujevac, an individual falsely claimed to represent CRTA’s legal team in the field. The organisation stressed that it had no such team.
Citing an increase in incidents and physical violence during the afternoon, CRTA urged all actors, particularly those able to influence institutions, to reduce tensions during the remaining hours of voting.
According to the estimate of CRTA, the turnout at 16:00 was 56,4%, which is just 2% short of the final turnout in the 2023 parliamentary election. The polls remain open until 20:00.
The turnout at 14:00 stood at 46,53%, Republic Electoral Commission announced. At the same time in 2023 and 2022, turnout was around 32%.
The turnout remains highest – 49,23% – in Vojvodina, followed by 47,55% in Belgrade, 44,95% in Šumadija and Western Serbia, and 44,04% in Eastern and Southern Serbia.
Serbian media are reporting a growing number of incidents at polling stations across the country.
A group of masked men attacked several young men outside a polling station at the Agricultural School in Pančevo. According to news outlet Mašina, those attacked were polling board member of Student List.
Footage circulating on social media shows one of the young men with blood on his face after being attacked. The attackers wore black clothing, hoods and face masks.
N1 reported that police had arrived at the scene. Police told the outlet that the incident had not been reported to them and that officers had learned of it through media reports.
In the Klisa neighbourhood of Novi Sad, two groups of citizens clashed. According to a social media post by the Bravo civic movement, the confrontation began after individuals were allegedly caught with a parallel voter list.
Tensions were also reported at Trgić in Novi Sad’s Novo Naselje neighbourhood, according to local news outlet 021.
A mobile monitoring team said it had spotted people carrying sacks and envelopes. Police, several men, mobile monitoring teams and students were at the scene. Citizens also reported receiving threats.
According to 021, footage also shows Gorski Matović, who was previously detained over incidents outside the Serbian National Theatre in which students were attacked.
Videos circulating on social media also appear to show organised transport of voters to polling stations, as well as people who are not members of polling station committees bringing in election materials.
CRTA announced that a group of five or six men and one woman had harassed one of its female observers outside the polling station in Zemun (Belgrade) where she was monitoring the vote.
The group shoved a stack of voter notification cards into her hands and photographed her, CRTA said, describing the incident as an act of intimidation and a threat to her safety.
According to the estimates of CRTA, turnout has reached 41% by 13:00.
In previous elections, the turnout reached that level only around 16:00.
The Republic Election Commission announced at a press conference that turnout in the election as of 12:00 stood at 34,55%, 13 percentage points higher than at the same time in the previous two election cycles.
Turnout remains highest in the northern province of Vojvodina, where it stands at 38,08%, followed by the capital, Belgrade, at 35,56%; Šumadija and Western Serbia at 32,56%; and Eastern and Southern Serbia at 31,96%.
Voters were seen photographing ballot papers at 25% of polling stations nationwide by noon, while such incidents were recorded at around half of polling stations in Belgrade and one in three in Vojvodina, CRTA election observation mission announced at its press conference. CRTA is observing elections based on a representative sample of polling stations.
They noted that the number of affected polling stations is continuing to rise.
CRTA also reported ballot stuffing at two polling station, in Žabalj and Sjenica. Its legal team had contacted the police over suspected vote buying and “carousel voting” in Novi Sad, involving a voter bringing in a completed ballot and taking out a blank one. The mission said it had received no information about the police response by the time of the press conference.
Safeguards against multiple voting were also inconsistently applied. At around 12% of polling stations – approximately 1,000 – electoral ink and UV lamps were not used consistently.
Irregularities, including procedural shortcomings, were recorded at around 14% of polling stations by noon, CRTA said. At more than 1,200 polling stations, voting was not organised in a way that fully safeguarded the integrity and secrecy of the ballot.
Observers were generally able to begin monitoring without obstruction. Isolated problems with access were resolved through the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK).
According to the Republic Electoral Commission, the turnout by 10:00 is 19,7%. The turnout is highest in the northern province of Vojvodina at 23,62%, followed by Belgrade at 20,46%, the Southern and Eastern Serbia region at 17,4% and the Šumadija and Western Serbia region at 17,02%. REC President Vladimir Dimitrijević stated at a press conference that so far there have been no major irregularities.
According to the estimates of the election watchdog CRTA, the turnout at 10:00 stood at 19,8%. At the same time, in the 2022 and 2023 elections, the turnout was about 10%.
Many members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), including candidate for Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, SNS leader Miloš Vučević and others, were photographed waiting in long queues to vote at their polling stations. These images were not usual in previous elections and highlight increased interest in voting and turnout in the early hours on Sunday.
Polling stations across Serbia opened at 07:00, with long queues forming across the country early in the morning. Students have urged citizens to cast their ballots as early as possible.
Queues have also been reported at polling stations abroad. Videos of voting in the US are circulating on social media, where the time difference means voters are casting their ballots in the middle of the night. Voting abroad is scheduled to last 13 hours and end no later than 20:00 Serbian time, when polling stations across Serbia also close. Anyone still at a polling station or queuing outside at closing time will be allowed to vote.
