DOMINANT ANGLE
Vilnius welcomes the electoral downfall of an "authoritarian leader": the Lithuanian press sees the defeat of Aleksandar Vučić, after fourteen years of SNS dominance, as the outcome of a domestic political showdown in Serbia, driven by record-high participation.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Vučić has acknowledged defeat: "According to the stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections" (Verslo žinios, 15min).
- 02
Projection of 135 to 140 seats for the Student List against around 105 for the SNS, or 2.2 million votes against 1.7 million (15min).
- 03
Turnout of 64.89% at 18:00, the highest since 1993, according to the preliminary data from the electoral commission (Verslo žinios).
ANALYSIS
Vilnius, October 26, 2026. Lithuanian media are portraying the Serbian vote on Sunday, October 25, as a "decisive showdown" between Aleksandar Vučić, described as an "authoritarian leader," and a diverse student movement that has been protesting for nearly two years. 15min recalls the origin of the crisis: the collapse in 2024 of the canopy of the Novi Sad train station, which killed 16 people and for which corruption is widely blamed. The newspaper talks about one of the largest waves of protest in Serbia since the fall of Slobodan Milošević in 2000.
Before the vote, 15min described the Student List, supported by a movement without a clear leader, as the greatest challenge to the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which dominates under its governance. Eighteen lists were vying for 250 seats, and several major opposition parties had given up running to call for voting for the students. The last meeting, on Thursday in Belgrade, reportedly drew around 150,000 people, according to an independent observer cited by the newspaper.
The account of the evening is based on Vučić's admission: "According to the stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections," he told supporters at his party's headquarters in Belgrade. He estimated the Student List at 135-140 seats and the SNS at around 105, or 2.2 million votes against 1.7 million. Verslo žinios and 15min note that the turnout, at 64.89% at 6 pm according to the electoral commission, is the highest since 1993.
The two newspapers then describe the reaction on the street: jubilant crowds near the electoral commission, car horns, and at the Student List's headquarters, supporters who applaud, cry, and chant "Victory, victory!" A student, Mila Martič, tells AFP: "I feel like I'm finally living in a free country."
Lithuanian media also report on Vučić's own reading of the situation: he blames his defeat on independent Serbian media, unnamed European countries, and "American depth," under the heading "He accuses the media and European countries." These accusations are presented as statements, without commentary on Lithuanian diplomacy or the future European orientation of Belgrade.
