Serbia's veteran ruler Vučić concedes election to student-led protest movementThe populist right-wing leader of 12 years says it is "clear" his party has lost the vote billed as a referendum on the country's future.35 mins agoEurope

Serbia’s long-standing leader Aleksandar Vučić has admitted defeat to the student-led protest movement in snap parliamentary elections.

“We still do not have final results… it is clear that we have lost these elections,” the right-wing populist leader said as he conceded late on Sunday.

Preliminary figures provided by Serbia’s election commission indicated a record high turnout, which commentators had suggested would favour the student movement.

Vučić had called the snap elections after two years of protests triggered by the 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad, which killed 16 and was seen as emblematic of corruption and negligence in Serbia.

Vučić made his announcement at the headquarters of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the capital Belgrade.

There were celebrations on the streets of the city, with people dancing and chanting “victory”, cars honking, and fireworks set off.

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