STORY: Serbia is voting on Sunday (October 25) as a mass student protest movement seeks to unseat long-time populist leader Aleksandar Vucic in the biggest challenge to his rule for more than a decade.

The snap parliamentary elections, called by Vucic in September, come after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024. The students have since gained widespread support.

Unusually long lines formed at polling stations in Belgrade and Novi Sad before the start of voting at 7 a.m.. Voting ends at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) with first indications of results expected around two hours later.

A student victory would be a profound political shift in the Balkan country of some 6 million people, reminiscent of the defeat of Hungary's Viktor Orban in April. It also potentially offers a blueprint for other student movements across Europe, which have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest, in some cases violently, against poor education standards and a lack of prospects.

But Vucic, who resigned from his second term as president to run again for prime minister, is a strong incumbent. Many voters thank him for pulling Serbia from economic obscurity and orchestrating a period of sustained modernisation including new highways, railways, schools and hospitals.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: BELGRADE, SERBIA (OCTOBER 25, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE QUEUING TO ENTER POLLING STATION

2. DOORS OPEN, PEOPLE ENTER POLLING STATION

3. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GOING INTO VOTING BOOTHS AND CASTING THEIR VOTE

4. PEOPLE QUEUEING ENTERING POLLING STATION

NOVI SAD, SERBIA (OCTOBER 25, 2026) (REUTERS - access all)

5. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CASTING THEIR BALLOT INTO BALLOT BOX

6. PEOPLE RECEIVING BALLOTS

7. PEOPLE CASTING THEIR VOTES

8. MAN RECEIVES BALLOT, GOES TO VOTING BOOTH

9. POLLING STATION STAFF