Forecast gives Serbia’s Student List 141 seats — The Guardian

In Serbia, the Student List movement is preparing for talks on forming a government after winning the parliamentary elections. According to The Guardian, a forecast by the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy in Belgrade, after counting 100% of the ballot sample, gives the movement 53% of the vote and 141 seats in the 250-member parliament.

The Serbian Progressive Party of former president Aleksandar Vučić, who conceded defeat on Sunday, is projected to receive 39% of the vote and 103 seats. The remaining seats are expected to go to minority lists. On Monday, supporters of the movement celebrated in Belgrade after the Student List’s victory.

A movement without a designated leader

The Student List has no experience in government and is built around collective decision-making without a clear hierarchy. Its candidate list included students, academics, actors and farmers. It is currently unknown whom the movement will nominate for the posts of prime minister and government members.

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Prominent representatives of the list include cardiologist Ilija Srdanović, who headed the candidate list; former central bank governor Dejan Šoškić; and Radomir Saičić, a chemistry professor at the University of Belgrade.

Stated priorities

The movement’s platform provides for fighting corruption and restoring the rule of law. Its stated measures include creating an independent police unit accountable to prosecutors rather than the Interior Ministry, as well as dismissing police officers linked to organized crime.

The movement also proposes banning the appointment of party loyalists to state-owned companies and introducing independent oversight of major infrastructure contracts. Relations with the EU and Russia, the aggressor state, were not central to the campaign. Serbia’s constitution provides for convening a new parliament within 30 days after the official announcement of the results, followed by 90 days to form a government.