The fight against crime and corruption, the establishment of a Special Prosecutorial Police and free school textbooks for all pupils in Serbia are some of the key points of the plan presented by the Student List to potential voters, a day after submitting their list of candidates to the Republic Electoral Commission for the upcoming snap parliamentary elections. 

The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has not yet officially presented its programme, but Aleksandar Vučić, a member of the party and the country’s president, has repeatedly emphasised that his campaign will be based on what he sees as significant economic achievements, development projects and a rising standard of living.

The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), a long-standing partner of the SNS, has also not yet published the platform with which it will face voters.

The student plan, as they have called it, consists of 11 points divided into three sections: “Serbia or the Mafia”, “Knowledge is Power” and “Serbia Grows with Us”.

The aim, they say, is to put a decisive stop to plundering, return stolen money to the budget and invest it in education and the economy.

“This is not a programme written behind closed doors. This is a plan for a country where institutions will serve citizens rather than party interests,” reads a post on the student movement’s website.

According to all opinion polls published so far, the ruling SNS and the Student List are expected to fight the hardest battle in the electoral race.

Unlike the SNS, the REC has not yet proclaimed the Student List. 

What is in the student programme?

Representatives of the Student List claim they will tackle “the eradication of corruption, the courts and the confiscation of illegally acquired wealth, which will free up hundreds of millions of euros for new public investments and what has been denied to the citizens of Serbia for years”.

They have announced the establishment of a Special Prosecutorial Police, “comprehensive, thorough auditing of the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs” and the dismissal of corrupt officers, as they state.

During the anti-government protests triggered by the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad, in which 16 people died and one woman was seriously injured, there were numerous clashes between police and demonstrators.

They highlight the protest in Valjevo in mid-August 2025 as one of the most brutal cases of excessive police force.

One of the first points in the programme of the ‘Students Win’ list is strengthening and staffing the Tax Administration so that “the assets of public officials can be uncompromisingly examined and stolen public money returned to the budget”.

They state they will demand a review of public officials’ actions and accountability for all individuals who have abused their position, become mired in corruption or violated human rights, the Constitution and the laws.

In the section of the programme relating to the economy, they say they will advocate for amendments to the Labour Act, under which the maximum duration of fixed-term employment would be 12 months, which they claim “ends the years-long blackmail of employees and ensures security”.

They also say they will advocate for abolishing what they call “the monopoly of the import lobby and ensuring food security”.

According to its published plan, this list advocates for “liberating the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia, and examining the accountability of journalists and management” across all television stations due to what they claim is discrimination and the spread of hate speech, while also mentioning the potential revocation of national broadcasting licences.

Licences are the wavelengths on which television or radio signals are broadcast; their number is limited, they are owned by the state and they are considered a public good.

When broadcast content is available across the entire territory of the country, it means that media outlet holds a national licence.

‘Free textbooks for all’ 

The students also say they plan to “return expertise to the head of state through the de-politisation of institutions and free education, as well as by halting attacks on state universities and schools and reforming education”.

“To make top-tier education accessible to all, free textbooks will be provided for all primary and secondary school pupils, regardless of their place of residence.

“Educational excursions and extracurricular activities must become financially accessible,” reads the student programme.

This academic year, free textbooks have been provided for around 96,000 pupils, according to Minister of Education Dejan Vuk Stanković.

Ahead of the calling of elections, the government announced amendments to the Education Act, which drew objections from education union representatives as well as some pupils’ parents.

Major problems in education include a shortage of professional staff, as well as various cases of peer violence and violence against teachers.

‘Startups for entrepreneurs and farmers’ 

The students also promise subsidies for innovative startups for entrepreneurs and farmers, and for young married couples “housing with affordable rent and purchase options, alongside tax relief for young families and those employed in education and healthcare”.

They did not release details on the agricultural point of the programme.

Agriculture is one of the sectors facing the most severe problems in Serbia.

Farmers and livestock breeders frequently protest, demanding better conditions and price protection for their produce.

In 2024, agriculture accounted for 6.1 per cent of Serbia’s gross domestic product (GDP), representing everything produced in the country.

This sector employs 20 per cent of the total workforce.

Serbia is a candidate country for European Union membership and has committed to aligning its agricultural policies with those of the European community, which includes opening the market to EU products.

‘Renewal of rural clinics and a drastic reduction in medicine prices’ 

Healthcare is another sore point in Serbian society.

Doctors, nurses and technicians have long complained about low pay and poor conditions in hospitals, yet for years the SNS has highlighted the opening of various clinical centres and hospitals as some of its greatest achievements.

In certain parts of Serbia inhabited mainly by elderly people, one of the main hardships is the lack of health centres and doctors.

“State control and a drastic reduction in medicine prices, alongside the renewal of rural surgeries and health centres and the employment of young doctors and technicians, guarantee basic healthcare in every part of Serbia,” the programme states.

(BBC Serbia, 15.09.2026)

https://www.bbc.com/serbian/articles/c539m4n08pn9o/lat