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Serbia’s long-standing leader Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 has admitted defeat to a student-led protest movement in snap parliamentary elections.<\/b><\/p>\n
Celebrations erupted as crowds descended on the centre of Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities. <\/p>\n
The student movement was formed less than two years ago in response to a railway station disaster blamed on corruption and negligence, but fought the election with candidates from a cross-section of Serbian society.<\/p>\n
“It is clear we have lost these elections,” right-wing populist leader Vu\u010di\u0107 said as he conceded late on Sunday, citing preliminary figures that gave the students 2.2 million votes and his party 1.72 million.<\/p>\n
The students were on course to win 52.9% of the vote, according to a later projection by independent pollsters CeSID, with the highest turnout for years of 69.34%.<\/p>\n
Vu\u010di\u0107 had spent two terms as president and could not seek a third term, so was leading his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) with the aim of returning to the post of prime minister, which he left in 2017.<\/p>\n
He called the snap elections after two years of protests triggered by the collapse of a canopy in front of Novi Sad station which killed 16 people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n