Today the election for the parliament starts in Serbia. The polling stations open at 7 in the morning. Over 6 million people can vote. A very close race is expected.
The party of Aleksandar Vucic wants to stay in power. Vucic was president before. Now he wants to become head of government. His opponents are young people from a student movement. This group calls itself student list.
The student list fights against corruption and for more fairness. They demand better schools and better hospitals. Many professors and experts are on this list. They are no career politicians.
A heavy accident caused the protests. A train station roof collapsed in the city Novi Sad. 16 people died there in 2024. The people blame the government for bad work.
Election observers from Europe watch the election on Sunday. They check if everything runs fair. The group has special police protection. There was trouble with the Serbian government before.
The government accused the observers of not being neutral. Andreas Schieder leads the group of election observers. He and Helmut Brandstatter received criticism from the acting president Ana Brnabic. The EU takes these attacks very seriously.
