Early voting begins in Serbia's parliamentary elections

Voting has begun across the country

Polling stations opened in Serbia on Sunday for early parliamentary elections. According to the Anadolu agency, 6.45 million registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots, choosing 250 deputies to the National Assembly. Polls opened at 7:00 local time and will close at 20:00; nearly 8,400 polling stations have been set up across the country, with 18 electoral lists and more than 2,400 candidates competing for mandates. The elections are being monitored by domestic and international observers, including the OSCE/ODIHR mission, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.

Voting abroad and in Kosovo communities

Serbs living abroad can vote at 93 polling stations in 37 countries — more than 102,000 voters are registered abroad. In addition, four Serbian municipalities have organized 60 extra polling stations for voters registered in neighboring Kosovo, where a large Serbian population lives in a number of areas.

Ruling party versus student list

The elections are taking place against the backdrop of months of student protests and a political crisis that led to the resignation of President Aleksandar Vucic in September. Vucic seeks to return to government as prime minister through the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has dominated the country's politics since 2012; the party is running under the list 'Aleksandar Vucic — United Serbia'. Among the challengers is the student-backed list 'Student List — Students Win', which grew out of the protests following the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, which killed 16 people. The student movement demands accountability for the disaster, greater transparency and reforms to strengthen the rule of law and state institutions. Also taking part are the Socialist Party of Serbia led by Ivica Dacic, the pro-European 'Serbia Against Violence' coalition and the nationalist bloc 'Authentic Right'.

How mandates are distributed

Serbia uses a proportional system: 250 seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method. Lists generally need a minimum of 3% of votes to enter parliament, while national minority lists are exempt from the threshold. To form a government, at least 126 seats are required. The Republican Electoral Commission tallies and announces the results after polling station reports. The new parliament must be formed within 30 days of the publication of the final results, and the new government within 90 days of the parliament's constituting session.

What is at stake

The vote comes amid disagreements over Serbia's European integration, relations with Russia and China, and the unresolved dispute over Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008. Serbia is an EU candidate but maintains close ties with Moscow and has not joined Western sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. These are the 15th parliamentary elections since the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990 and the 10th early elections; the previous ones were held in December 2023. The result will determine the composition of the next parliament and which parties will be able to gather support to form a government. For voters, the timeline itself also has practical significance: the electoral commission will tally the results, after which a new government must be formed within 90 days — this will determine who will lead the government and what course the country will take.