Despite its defeat in the October 25 parliamentary elections, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is not expected to relinquish its political influence without resistance, particularly at the local level. While the transfer of power at the national level is still underway, growing pressure is mounting for early local elections in cities where voters overwhelmingly supported the opposition-backed Students’ List.
The possibility of a rapid political comeback by the SNS appears increasingly unlikely, although the party continues to hold important positions in local governments across Serbia.
The latest repeat voting at 53 polling stations did not produce the additional setback for the SNS that some had anticipated. According to preliminary results announced on Monday, the SNS secured 4,769 votes, narrowly ahead of the Students’ List, which received 4,638.
The results also slightly changed the distribution of parliamentary seats. One mandate went to the minority list led by Usame Zukorlić, reducing the Students’ List from 141 to 140 seats, while the SNS retained its 103 mandates.
However, these figures do not necessarily indicate a recovery for the ruling party, as the broader process of transferring political power has yet to begin.
According to David Krstić, a member of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), the final election results are expected by early next week. The new parliament’s constitutive session must be held within 30 days of the publication of the final results, meaning it could take place by December 10 at the latest.
Current Speaker of Parliament Ana Brnabić has indicated that she intends to convene the session as soon as possible.
Pressure mounts for local elections
The political focus is increasingly shifting towards local governments, particularly in Belgrade and other major Serbian cities where the election results showed strong support for the Students’ List.
However, holding early local elections before the end of the year appears increasingly difficult.
Aleksandar Ivković, editor of the Savremena politika portal, explains that the legal procedure requires the resignation of a mayor or municipal president, followed by a 30-day period during which no successor is elected. Only after that can early elections be called, with an electoral campaign lasting at least another 30 days.
Consequently, local elections are more likely to take place next year.
Despite the significant electoral setback suffered by the SNS in the capital, Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Šapić has already ruled out resigning.
The Students’ List secured 62.94 percent of the vote in Belgrade, almost twice the 31.65 percent received by the SNS list.
Concerns over public spending
The continued control of local institutions by SNS officials has also raised concerns about the management of public funds during the political transition.
On October 29, Serbia’s caretaker government approved an additional 5.98 billion dinars for Belgrade from the current budget reserve. This brought the total amount transferred to the capital through this mechanism since the beginning of 2026 to 7.23 billion dinars, equivalent to approximately €61.5 million.
The decision, signed by caretaker Prime Minister Đuro Macut, did not specify the purposes for which the additional funds would be used, according to FoNet.
Previous allocations have raised questions about the distribution of public money. According to data from the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR), Informer, a pro-government media outlet, received 900 million dinars from the Belgrade budget during 2026 through a public competition for media project funding.
Similar developments have been reported in other municipalities, including Užice, where local television station TV 5 received 4.5 million dinars from the city budget, according to Vladan Sinđić, a councillor from the Green-Left Front (ZLF).
Stefan Simić, a councillor from the Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) in the Belgrade City Assembly, has called for stricter oversight of municipal spending.
He said he had contacted city secretaries and directors of public enterprises, requesting that all payments be suspended except employee salaries and essential operating expenses.
Simić warned that the outgoing authorities could use their remaining time in office to further deplete the city’s financial resources, insisting that public funds must serve citizens rather than political parties.
Students prepare strategy for local elections
The Students’ Movement has meanwhile confirmed that it is preparing a strategy for the upcoming local electoral contests.
In a written response, the movement argued that the October 25 results demonstrated that local authorities in numerous municipalities had lost their legitimacy.
According to the students, the SNS-led government lost in 26 of Serbia’s 29 cities, as well as in several municipalities where local elections were held in March.
The movement said that student teams had been established in municipalities across the country to prepare for future elections, with support from students and citizens.
Although it has not yet outlined a detailed electoral strategy, the movement stressed that it remains ready to challenge local authorities through democratic elections.
Opposition demands elections, not political reshuffling
In Užice, the Green-Left Front has already requested early local elections, arguing that the results of the parliamentary vote demonstrate that the SNS-led municipal administration no longer enjoys public support.
With voter turnout reaching a record 78.36 percent, the Students’ List won 61.37 percent of the vote, compared with 33.79 percent for the SNS-led coalition.
However, a city assembly session intended to discuss the dismissal of the mayor remains unfinished after being interrupted on October 16 due to a lack of quorum.
Sinđić warned that the prolonged institutional deadlock could affect the functioning of public enterprises and even schools.
He also said the opposition was attempting to persuade smaller coalition partners, including the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Social Democratic Party of Serbia (SDPS), to support the mayor’s dismissal and pave the way for elections.
Nevertheless, the opposition has made clear that it does not want a simple reshuffling of political alliances.
“We are certainly not seeking a reshuffling of the local government. We want elections,” Sinđić said.
The results in other major cities further illustrate the scale of the SNS’s electoral setback. The Students’ List won 63.05 percent in Novi Sad, 58 percent in Kragujevac, 61.51 percent in Čačak and 61.19 percent in Valjevo, significantly outperforming the SNS-led lists in each city.
These results could encourage smaller coalition partners to reconsider their political alliances, potentially leading to changes in local administrations even before new elections are held.
According to Ivković, municipalities where the SNS depends on smaller coalition partners could become particularly important in the coming months. In some cases, he said, temporary local administrations formed through changes in coalition alignments could be a more practical solution than immediately dissolving municipal assemblies.
Political parties face a new reality
The upcoming local elections could also provide an opportunity for opposition parties that did not directly participate in the parliamentary contest to regain political influence.
Ivković believes the Students’ Movement is unlikely to participate directly in all local elections, instead supporting established local opposition figures and groups of citizens.
He also argues that candidates endorsed by the student movement are likely to have a significant advantage, particularly if elections take place in the near future.
Stefan Simić, meanwhile, maintains that the Students’ List currently has the strongest political mandate, having received more than 2.3 million votes nationwide and nearly 700,000 in Belgrade.
He called for broad public support to ensure that the political changes demanded by voters are fully implemented.
Ivković has also advocated reforming Serbia’s local electoral calendar, suggesting that all local elections should eventually be held on the same day, separately from parliamentary elections. Such a change would require special legislation.
For the SNS, the immediate challenge is no longer simply to regain the political ground it has lost, but to preserve its remaining influence and maintain the loyalty of its core electorate.
A boycott of future elections appears unlikely, while another electoral defeat could further weaken the party’s position.
Although the October 25 elections marked a major turning point in Serbian politics, the struggle over local institutions, public finances and political alliances suggests that the country’s political transition is far from complete.
