The first session of Serbia's new Parliament, which will be dominated by a student-led movement following its election triumph last month, will be held on Nov. 17, the outgoing parliament speaker said on Sunday.
Ana Brnabic scheduled the inaugural parliamentary meeting after Serbia's election authorities last week declared the final results of the Oct. 25 vote.
The Students' List won 140 seats in the 250-member assembly while the Serbian Progressive Party won 103, according to those results. The remaining seats go to the parties of ethnic minorities in Serbia.
The students led two years of street protests before they toppled strongman Aleksandar Vucic in the election. Protests erupted in response to a train station canopy collapse that killed 16 people in the country's north in November 2024, which many in Serbia blamed on corruption in state infrastructure projects.
The Students' List election candidates included mostly professors, teachers and various other experts in their fields but with hardly any political experience, who will now take up parliamentary seats. The group promised to restore the rule of law and terminate corruption that they said flourished under Vucic.
The Parliament will first choose a new speaker and other parliamentary bodies. Then a new government should be formed within 90 days.
{{/usCountry}}The Parliament will first choose a new speaker and other parliamentary bodies. Then a new government should be formed within 90 days.
{{/usCountry}}Serbia also must hold an early presidential election by the end of the year after Vucic resigned the post on Sept. 27 in a failed attempt to become the next prime minister.
Though the election winners have yet to take office, the change in the balance of power has led to a series of detentions relating to cases of suspected election fraud, attacks on student protesters and corruption. Vucic has accused his opponents of a "revolutionary terror," though his right-wing party is still in charge.
The SNS party had ruled the country almost unchallenged for 14 years, controlling all layers of power and state institutions. The party has faced accusations of corruption and cronyism and of organised crime links, which it has denied.
The student movement's victory has resonated beyond Serbia's borders at a time when many European countries face youth-led protests. Serbia is formally seeking European Union entry, but the process has stalled under Vucic, who has maintained close relations with Russia and China. (AP) SKS
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