The upcoming snap parliamentary elections, scheduled for 25th October, could be the most dramatic since 2012, when the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and President Aleksandar Vučić came to power.
The final list of electoral lists is not yet known, as not all have submitted candidacy requests to the Republic Election Commission (RIK).
So far, ten lists have been proclaimed: around the ruling SNS and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Students’ List – Students Win, Authentic Right – Miloš Jovanović, as well as the People’s Choice and European Serbia lists, alongside four minority ones: the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), Rasim Ljajić – Humane, Usame Zukorlić – Unification Movement, and the Russian Party.
The People’s Serbia coalition, which includes the People’s Movement of Serbia, New Face of Serbia, and the Ecological Uprising, has announced it will withdraw the People’s Choice list in support of the students.
This text will be updated as the situation develops, so you have a single guide to everything you need to know about the October trip to the polls.
- Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)
The electoral list Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia will be first on the ballot paper.
The list’s top candidate is Aleksandar Vučić, who is also the candidate for prime minister, followed by former prime minister and official SNS president Miloš Vučević, and Ana Brnabić, president of the National Assembly of Serbia and former prime minister.
Aleksandar Vucic at an SNS rally
A slightly more detailed review of their list of 250 candidates for members of parliament reveals which other parties also want to enter the parliamentary benches alongside the SNS.
First and foremost is Vjerica Radeta, an official of Vojislav Šešelj’s Serbian Radical Party (SRS) – who was convicted of war crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia – from which the SNS broke away in 2008.
When Vučić and Tomislav Nikolić, former high-ranking SRS officials, decided to form the Progressives, fierce attacks followed from the Radicals’ camp.
This time they are going together, so Šešelj’s son Aleksandar is also on the list.
Vojislav Seselj and his son Aleksandar
There are also Stefan Krkobabić, leader of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS), Marjan Rističević from the People’s Peasant Party, and Milija Miletić from the United Peasant Party.
The list also includes, among others, actors Lidija Vukićević and Branislav Lečić, basketball player Željko Rebrača, pro-government student Miloš Pavlović, and Vukašin Vučićević, son of Dragan J. Vučićević, owner and editor of the pro-government tabloid Informer.
At the session of the SNS Main Board in Niš, Vučić announced that if the SNS wins enough votes to form a government, his cabinet will have far fewer ministerial posts – just 12 compared to the previous 30.
- Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)
The coalition around the Socialists, which has been in power at the national level with the SNS since 2012, has been named Ivica Dačić – Factor of Stability.
It will be in second place on the ballot paper.
First on the list is Ivica Dačić, the current minister of internal affairs, and a former prime minister, minister of foreign affairs, and president of the republican parliament.
Ivica Dacic, president of the SPS
The Socialists are entering the elections in cooperation with United Serbia (JS) led by Dalibor Marković Palma – son of Dragan Marković Palma, who passed away in 2024 – and the Social Democratic Party of Serbia, whose leadership Rasim Ljajić recently stepped down from, while the Greens of Serbia are also in their bloc.
“The Socialist Party of Serbia is like the burning bush in the Bible that burns but is not consumed – we are leaving the flame for future generations of male and female socialists,” Dačić stated.
The SPS is entering the electoral race shaken by internal party divisions and the expulsion of prominent official Branko Ružić, a former minister of education.
In the meantime, individual local SPS boards have also backed Ružić, who remains in politics and does not rule out the possibility of participating in the elections, which will bring an earthquake, he said in an extensive interview with BBC News in Serbian.
- ‘Students’ List – Students Win’
The list is largely responsible for triggering the elections through its actions.
To a string of demands from mass protests, chief among which is establishing accountability for the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy, when 16 people died, students added another in April 2025 – snap parliamentary elections.
They view them, as they say, as the only path to “the freedom of institutions.”
Amid the sounds of trumpets and the rhythms of the Užice kolo, on the eve of 14 September, students handed in their list, with the RIK proclaiming it the following day.
It will be number three on the ballot paper.
Meanwhile, the student movement’s website published its list of 250 candidates for MPs, which had long been speculated about in the media.
The list bearer is Ilija Srdanović, professor of urgent medicine and a cardiologist at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina.
Others on the list include playwright Željko Hubač, actor Tihomir Stanić, former captain of the Yugoslavia national basketball team Dejan Bodiroga, former National Bank of Serbia governor Dejan Šoškić, musician Feđa Dimović, sociologist Jovo Bakić, athlete Mihail Dudaš, and Aleksandar Baucal from the Faculty of Philosophy.
The gathering of signatures for the student list was marked by long queues of their supporters in several towns across Serbia.
The students also published a warning about potential “fake lists” in the elections with names similar to theirs, intended to confuse voters.
According to opinion polls, the student list is the authorities’ main challenger in the elections, which is why it has been backed by several opposition parties and movements, even though the students have hitherto frequently distanced themselves from the opposition and even publicly criticised it.
Among them are parties of very different profiles.
The Democratic Party (DS), the Kingdom of Serbia Renewal Movement (POKS), the Green-Left Front (ZLF), Kreni-Promeni (Go-Change), the Social Democratic Party, Nemanja Šarović’s “Love, Faith, Hope” movement (a former SRS official), the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, Lokalni Front from Kraljevo, Dveri, Enough is Enough (DJB), ProGlas, and a series of local organisations.
The Free Citizens’ Movement (PSG) announced it would only enter the elections in the event of a unified pro-European opposition coalition – which, by all accounts, will not happen – and they too have announced support for the students.
In the meantime, the student camp has also been backed by the People’s Serbia coalition, which had previously announced its participation in the elections, comprising the People’s Movement of Serbia, the Ecological Uprising, and the New Face of Serbia.
- ‘Rasim Ljajić – Humane’
Number four on the ballot paper will be a minority electoral list gathered around Rasim Ljajić, a long-serving official and minister in multiple Serbian governments.
It has been named Rasim Ljajić – Humane and brings together the Sandžak Democratic Party (SDP) and the Montenegrin Democratic Party (CDP).
Rasim Ljajic
Ljajić is not an MP candidate, but as he says, he “gave the list his name for the sake of visibility.”
“I felt an obligation to the party and the people who voted for me for years to provide at least that much at a turning point, to be the list bearer,” said Ljajić, the current president of FK Partizan.
Srđan Šajn, president of the Roma Party, objected to Ljajić’s list being granted minority status.
They submitted an official complaint to the RIK on 17 September, and Šajn announced he would also seek a reaction from the Constitutional Court.
- Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians
The largest Hungarian minority party in Serbia, a long-standing partner of the Progressives in power, is also preparing for elections.
Bálint Pásztor, president of the VMSZ, says they are not concerned with who is on the Serbian Progressive Party’s list, who is on the student list, or who is on the lists of “the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth opposition party,” but only with the interests of the Vojvodina Hungarian community.
The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians – Dr Bálint Pásztor list will be number five on the ballot paper.
The Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians (DZVM) – which backed the student list – is demanding an explanation from the RIK as to how the VMSZ list obtained minority status when it features “several candidates who are most likely members of the majority nation.”
- ‘Usame Zukorlić (SPP) Unification Movement’
There were announcements that Bosniak parties might form a joint list, but that will not happen.
The Justice and Reconciliation Party (SPP) decided to run independently in the elections.
It is named Usame Zukorlić (SPP) Unification Movement and will be number six on the ballot paper.
The Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak (SDA), whose long-standing leader is Sulejman Ugljanin, also announced an independent run.
They submitted their list on 20 September.
- ‘Russian Party – Serbia in BRICS – Slobodan Nikolić’
Submitted as a list of the Russian national minority.
It will be seventh on the ballot paper, headed by Slobodan Nikolić, former vice-president of Marjan Rističević’s People’s Peasant Party and president of the Vladimir Putin Serbian-Russian Friendship Society.
The Russian Party was formed in June 2013 in Šabac – Nikolić’s hometown – as a political organisation for the Russian national minority, even though only 92 people identifying as Russians lived in the Mačva region at the time, Danas writes.
They advocate, as they say, for strengthening ties with Russia.
In these elections, they are joined by the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia (NKPJ) and the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ).
- ‘Authentic Right’
This is the third consecutive election cycle where Miloš Jovanović’s New Democratic Party of Serbia (NDSS) and the Monarchists – the Kingdom of Serbia Movement led by Vladimir Jelić – are running together.
As one of their criteria for cooperation, they cited, among other things, opposition to joining the European Union, with which Serbia has been negotiating membership since 2014.
Milos Jovanovic, New Democratic Party of Serbia (Novi DSS)
They named their list Authentic Right, with Miloš Jovanović as the list bearer, and the RIK proclaimed their list on 18 September.
Jovanović describes the upcoming elections as “fateful.”
He sees the referendum questions of the election as “where our state borders are, whether Ratko Mladić is a criminal or a hero, what marriage should look like in Serbia, and whether we should introduce sanctions against allied states like the Russian Federation,” Tanjug reports.
He is one of the few opposition politicians who attended both the commemoration and the funeral of Mladić, the former General of the Army of the Republika Srpska convicted of the gravest war crimes during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, including the genocide in Srebrenica.
“There is no sincere right-winger for whom removing Vučić is not an imperative,” Jovanović stated earlier.
Among those who backed the Authentic Right list are poet Matija Bećković, as well as Aleksandar Pavić, until recently an MP for Branimir Nestorović’s “We – Voice from the People” movement.
- ‘People’s Choice’
Number nine on the ballot paper, at least for now, is the People’s Choice list.
It is formed by the coalition of Miroslav Aleksić’s People’s Movement of Serbia, Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta’s Ecological Uprising, and Miloš Parandilović’s New Face of Serbia.
Although ahead of the election call they stated their goal was to become the third force in the elections – after the students and the ruling parties – they announced the withdrawal of their list and their support for the students.
“This is our contribution to the referendum atmosphere and to showing that this is a choice between Serbia and the mafia – either these people stay in power or we clean them out and have a healthy state,” Parandilović stated.
“We will place all our resources and controllers at the disposal of the student list,” Jovanović added.
- Pro-European Opposition
Comprising Dragan Đilas’s Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), Zdravko Ponoš’s Serbia Centre (SRCE), and Goran Ješić’s Solidarity Civic Movement.
They named their list European Serbia – Marinika Tepić – Zdravko Ponoš.
Zdravko Ponos
“We have clear ideas and a programme – on how to dismantle the Serbian Progressive Party regime within 100 days and how to build the European Serbia we believe in and fight for,” Đilas stated.
Despite pressure from student movement supporters and disagreements within their own ranks – primarily over whether they should drop out of the race and support the students – this coalition nevertheless submitted its list and announced participation in the elections.
“We are not destroying the referendum atmosphere by entering the elections” – it “vanished when representatives of the student organisation said they did not want cooperation with the opposition,” Ponoš considers, adding that “parties exist to go to elections,” not to a “beauty pageant.”
“The best way to win is through three opposition lists — student, right-wing, and European,” added Đilas, who believes this will boost turnout.
They will be number 10 on the ballot.
However, several high-ranking officials from these parties, including SSP deputy president Borko Stefanović, the heads of SSP boards in Niš, Novi Sad, and Belgrade, as well as two members of the Serbia Centre Presidency, decided to withdraw their names from the list.
Goran Ješić, whose Solidarity movement is one of the pillars of the coalition, is all the way down in 186th place on the list.
Aside from party leaders, some of the better-known names include Jasna Matić, former minister of telecommunications in Mirko Cvetković’s government, and Dragoljub Vidačić, former basketball player for Red Star, Partizan, and Vršac Hemofarm, who is now a coach.
The Branimir Nestorović Factor
An electoral coalition was also announced by Branimir Nestorović’s “We – Voice from the People” movement and Vladimir Gajić’s People’s Party.
The People’s Party described it as “clearly and unequivocally sovereignist, Eurosceptic, integrationist, and democratic,” but nothing has been officially signed yet.
Branimir Nestorovic
And the situation is getting increasingly complicated.
Several presidency members of the “We – Voice from the People” movement claim that a coalition with the Socialist Movement of Aleksandar Vulin – a former minister across multiple portfolios (interior, defence, social work) and former director of the Security Information Agency (BIA) – is being forced upon them.
Behind this attempt at imposition stand the BIA itself and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, claims Slobodan Ilić, an MP for “We – Voice from the People.”
Due to their opposition to a coalition with Vulin – who has been under US sanctions since 2023 over suspicions of involvement in corruption and ties to organised crime – they were expelled from the party, they claim.
“We had a request from people in the Russian Federation to gather all Russophile parties and movements in Serbia, and within that framework, Aleksandar Vulin’s Socialist Movement, which enjoys great prestige there,” Nestorović said at a press conference without revealing details.
One of the latest updates on this drama came from Gajić of the People’s Party, who says the announced coalition with “We – Voice from the People” remains in effect, and that the Socialist Movement will not be part of it.
Read more about the drama within “We – Voice from the People” in a separate article.
Meanwhile, a recording of a high-level dispute between movement officials generated a lot of attention, mentioning a meeting between one of them and Andrej Vučić, brother of President Aleksandar Vučić.
Nestorović, a physician who rose to popularity during the coronavirus epidemic, was one of the biggest surprises of the previous 2023 elections, winning nearly five percent of the vote.
Strength of Serbia Movement
Participation in the elections was also announced by Bogoljub Karić’s Strength of Serbia Movement, a businessman and politician whose rise in the world of business was the subject of numerous controversies.
Because of this, he lived in Russia from 2006 to 2016, returning after all investigations against him were dropped due to the statute of limitations and lack of evidence.
An Interpol red notice had also long been issued for Karić, which was subsequently withdrawn.
He and his movement stood by Vučić and the SNS for years, and now, as he says, he is entering the elections to “put his knowledge, experience, and more than half a century of work in the service of Serbia.”
They have not yet submitted their list to the RIK.
Roma Union of Serbia and Democratic Union of Roma of Serbia
The Roma Union of Serbia and the Democratic Union of Roma of Serbia initially signed an agreement on joint participation in the elections.
For two decades, Roma have lacked the opportunity to be elected and represented where their problems are solved – in parliament, the government, and institutions, Miloš Mihajlović, president of the Roma Union of Serbia, stated at the time.
However, on 17 September, the Democratic Union of Roma decided to abandon further talks and election-related activities, they announced.
They wanted, as they stated, a broader consolidation of Roma parties and organisations, which failed to materialise, so they are continuing on their own, though they point out that this “should not be interpreted as a break in relations with the Roma Union of Serbia.”
Albanian Parties
Driton Rexhepi, president of the Bujanovac Municipal Assembly, called on Albanian political parties from Bujanovac, Preševo, and Medveđa to run on a single electoral list, which he termed a “historical test.”
The political representation of Albanians in the National Assembly of Serbia depends on potential unification, he stated.
However, it remains unknown whether a unified list will happen.
This was precisely the topic of a meeting between leaders of Albanian political parties from Bujanovac and Preševo and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on 15 September in Pristina.
The outcome of the meeting is unknown, but Kurti stated that “cooperation is necessary” among Albanian parties in the upcoming elections.
The rift is crucially influenced by the conflict between Shaip Kamberi’s Party for Democratic Action (PDD) and Arber Pajaziti’s Alternative for Change, the current mayor of Bujanovac, Bujanovačke newspaper writes.
(BBC News, 21.09.2026)
https://www.bbc.com/serbian/articles/ckddv55d91ejo/lat
