Longtime Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic lost a consequential parliamentary election on Sunday to the grassroots Student List party, which focused on corruption and organized crime in his administration.
Mr. Vucic has dominated Balkan politics for 14 years, serving as Serbia’s prime minister from 2014 to 2017 and as president until his resignation in September.
Mr. Vucic’s party, the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, unanimously nominated him as a candidate for prime minister this year.
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Fearing a loss if he did not run himself, Mr. Vucic resigned from the presidency after the United Nations General Assembly and began an aggressive parliamentary campaign.
United Serbia, the right-wing coalition including Mr. Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party, won just 38.8% of the vote on Sunday, compared to Student List’s 52.9%
The Student List victory is the culmination of nearly two years’ worth of protests following the collapse of a canopy at a recently renovated Serbian train station. The incident, which killed 16 people, triggered claims of corruption and negligence fueled by the administration.
Though it began as a protest movement, the scale of the party’s victory last night signals a wider appeal than student protestors.
Still, Mr. Vucic blamed his loss on foreign interference by Europe and the American “deep state.” In a speech following his loss on Sunday, he vowed to keep fighting in the opposition party.
“Our structure is very firm, we are very united and strong, and we are used to being in opposition,” Mr. Vucic said.
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