The historic vote pitted him against a student-led movement that had spent two years protesting against his government following the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people. The Student List, which emerged from the protests, fielded candidates drawn from professions including medicine and education, many of whom have no political experience. The movement campaigned for stronger institutions and an end to corruption. Some established opposition parties backed the students rather than fielding their own candidates. The Student List's lead candidate Ilija Srdanović told BBC Serbian: "This will be a free state." He said the anti-corruption movement, which had attracted anti-government voters across Serbia, hoped to "free the country from tyranny."
