RIK confirms "Student List – Students Win" with 250 candidates

The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) of Serbia on Tuesday confirmed the list called "Student List – Students Win," registering 250 candidates for the early parliamentary elections scheduled for 25 October. All 19 commission members who were present voted to accept the list.

RIK member Marija Jovanović reported that the student movement submitted 69,099 legally valid signatures. She said the electoral roll meets the statutory gender-representation requirements and that the full legally prescribed documentation was provided and found valid.

Mass mobilization as signatures were handed in

The signatures were delivered to RIK after a weekend of collection across Serbia, during which supporters often waited more than six hours in line to sign. At the ceremony on Monday that began in front of the Rectorate, organisers recorded about 6,000 people present at 17:50 and a column on the route to RIK of roughly 8,700 participants.

The opposition coalition Narodna Srbija became the first to withdraw its own electoral list and announce it will support the student list. Narodna Srbija — made up of the People's Movement of Serbia, Ecological Uprising and the New Face of Serbia — said on Tuesday (15 September) it would pull its "Narodni izbor" list and back the student candidacy at the 25 October vote.

Miroslav Aleksić, leader of the People's Movement of Serbia, explained the decision by saying, "Our position is a referendum-like atmosphere. To achieve that, we must make certain concessions. I had talks with representatives of the student list and with other opposition colleagues and we made this decision as a kind of contribution toward a referendum atmosphere."

Some analysts in Serbia welcomed the withdrawal as politically sensible. Andrej Ševo, a researcher at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, said the coalition has a small voter base and would likely struggle to pass the electoral threshold; running independently could have siphoned votes away from other opposition forces.

On Tuesday in Novi Sad, the Student List began presenting its 11-point plan titled "We Know How". The students say their campaign will continue across Serbia until 19 September.

Photo: Printskrin