The concession was checked in Euronews Serbia and Guardian reporting. Seat estimates are attributed to Vučić rather than presented as certified results. Previously checked ODIHR documents provide the pre-election context and observer timetable.
Updated : Updated October 26, 2026: added Vučić’s concession and his preliminary seat estimates following the October 25 vote. Original publication date and URL retained.
A concession before the final count
Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat in Serbia’s October 25 parliamentary election, acknowledging that the student-backed list had won, according to Euronews Serbia and the Guardian.
Euronews reported that Vučić estimated the Student List would take 135–140 seats and his Serbian Progressive Party around 105. He based the assessment on a sample of results; the final allocation was not yet settled.
ODIHR’s pre-election report traces the challenge to protests after the November 2024 Novi Sad railway-station canopy collapse, which killed 16 people. Demands for accountability and the rule of law developed into a campaign for an early election.
Vučić resigned as president on September 27 to lead the Serbian Progressive Party’s parliamentary list, the report records. The election therefore concerns representation in parliament, rather than a new presidential mandate.
The report says 19 candidate lists were registered and one subsequently withdrew. All registered lists met the requirement that at least 40% of candidates be of the less represented gender, although only one list was headed by a woman.
Observers will assess more than the count
ODIHR’s mission is examining campaigning, media coverage, political financing, voter registration and dispute resolution, alongside voting and counting. Its October 9 interim report acknowledged legal changes addressing some previous recommendations but said others remained unresolved, including those on voter pressure, misuse of state resources and media oversight.
The mission lists a 14-person core team and 30 long-term observers, and says it requested 300 short-term observers. That request is distinct from a confirmed final deployment total.
Delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament are joining the observation effort. Their preliminary conclusions are scheduled for October 26 at 3 p.m. Belgrade time, with a final report to follow months after the electoral process ends.
Sources
6 references
- Al Jazeera, AFP and ReutersSerbia votes in election pitting longtime leader against student movementElection-day reporting incorporating agency material · 2026-10-25
- OSCE/ODIHRSerbia early parliamentary elections: interim reportPrimary observer report; pre-election context · 2026-10-09
- OSCE/ODIHRSerbia election observation missionPrimary mission scope and timetable · 2026-10-25 election
- OSCE/ODIHRInternational observers to hold press conference on MondayPrimary announcement · 2026-10-23
- Euronews with Euronews SerbiaStudent List wins Serbian election as Vučić concedes defeatIndependent reporting of concession and preliminary estimates · 2026-10-25
- The GuardianSerbian leader Aleksandar Vučić ousted by student movement in seismic electionIndependent corroboration of concession · 2026-10-25; updated October 26
