Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic conceded on Sunday that his party had lost early parliamentary elections, sparking widespread celebrations in Belgrade and potentially ending 14 years of his dominance over the country's politics. Official results and the allocation of seats are still awaited.

"Based on a statistical sample representing all categories of voters, it is clear that we have lost this election," Vucic told supporters at his party's headquarters in the capital.

Vucic called the snap vote under pressure from student-led protests that lasted nearly two years. The demonstrations began after the collapse of a railway station canopy in the city of Novi Sad in 2024, which killed 16 people and fuelled accusations of corruption and negligence. What started as a demand for a transparent investigation gradually grew into a broad political movement calling for early elections.

According to AFP, car horns blared across Belgrade as revellers embraced and danced. "A tyrant will no longer rule this country," Ilija Srdanovic, a representative of the student-backed list, told crowds of supporters.

Eighteen lists competed for the 250-seat parliament, while major opposition parties stayed out of the race and urged their supporters to back the student list, which campaigned on an anti-corruption platform. Authorities put turnout at 64.89 percent by 6 p.m. local time, two hours before polls closed.

Election monitor CRTA reported a large number of irregularities and incidents during voting, though security authorities did not confirm any major election-related violence. Riot police were deployed around the electoral commission and the presidency, and the student movement urged supporters to remain calm.

Vucic had chosen to step down before the end of his second presidential term to run for prime minister. During the campaign, he accused the student movement of plotting a foreign-backed coup, a charge the protesters rejected.