Aleksandar Vučić, the leading candidate of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), conceded defeat in the parliamentary elections of October 25 after projections showed that the list backed by the student movement had secured an absolute majority.
Data from CRTA, an organization that monitors electoral processes, showed that the student list received 51.5 percent of the vote, while the SNS led by Vučić won 40.4 percent. In the 250-seat parliament, the opposition list is expected to secure between 135 and 140 seats, which would enable it to form a government without the need for other parties.
Të lidhura
None found
The result was met with celebrations in Belgrade. Young people, in particular, took to the streets to express their joy after the student list’s victory.
The vote was seen as a referendum on Vučić’s rule. He has controlled Serbian politics since 2012. The student list was formed after mass protests held following the collapse of the roof of a railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024. The accident caused the deaths of 16 people and led to accusations of corruption and institutional negligence, prompting civic mobilization across Serbia.
The electoral process was not without tensions. CRTA reported suspicions of vote-buying, voter intimidation and the photographing of ballots. The media also reported attacks on observers and journalists.
Following Vučić’s defeat, attention also turned to the absence of a reaction from Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has maintained close political relations and regional cooperation with the Serbian president.
By the time this report was published, Rama had made no public statement about the election result in Serbia or the student list’s victory. For analysts contacted by “Bota sot,” this silence is linked to the fact that Vučić’s defeat has disrupted Rama’s plans with Belgrade, Grenell and Putin.
“Vučić’s departure will soon be followed by Rama’s”
Analyst Adriatik Riza Dosti describes Rama as terrified by Vučić’s defeat. He believes that the Albanian prime minister’s political downfall could come very soon after that of the Serbian leader.
“It is clear that Rama has been shaken by Vučić’s defeat because he has lost a close partner on whom he relied. During this period, he has been facing powerful student protests and has been unable to control the situation. Despite the repressive measures he takes every day, he has lost control and sees his own downfall as a possibility. With these actions, he is only increasing the hatred directed at him. I think that after Vučić’s departure, the departures of Rama, Netanyahu and Macron could also come very soon, leaders who are violent and autocratic and who have remained in power for years,” Dosti told “Bota sot.”
Asked whether the long-standing political closeness between Rama and Vučić indicates that the Albanian prime minister has attached greater importance to his partnership with Belgrade than to defending Kosovo’s interests, Dosti said that the ties between official Tirana and Belgrade go back a long way.
“This is not about geographical proximity, but about a shared way of thinking. Relations between Belgrade and Tirana have been longstanding and have always been built at Albania’s expense, while Kosovo has been stabbed in the back. Official Tirana has historically been linked to Belgrade and not to its own country and people, let alone Pristina,” the analyst said.
Dosti does not believe that Albania will remain hostage to regional policies, despite the close Rama–Vučić cooperation through the Open Balkan initiative.
According to him, after Vučić’s defeat, Rama’s relations with Serbia will not be the same as before.
“Albania cannot remain hostage to any regional policy or economic dependency. Nevertheless, difficulties will persist precisely because of the close anti-Albanian Rama–Vučić cooperation, which has particularly worsened Kosovo’s situation. If Rama falls, there will be nothing but light in the Tirana–Pristina tunnel. Following Vučić’s downfall, I do not believe Rama will continue with the same ties to Serbia. But neither do I think he will correct his policy in Kosovo’s favor or balance his relations with Albin Kurti. Rama has anti-Albanianism in his blood and is practically openly hostile to Albanians and anti-Kosovo,” Dosti concluded.
“Rama’s silence is a signal”
Analyst Milazim Maraj sees Edi Rama’s silence as an indication that numerous projects which, according to him, had been planned together with Vučić, Grenell and Putin have been damaged.
Maraj says that Vučić’s defeat will also have an impact on Albania, but does not expect Serbia to adopt a peaceful policy because, in his view, only the actors on the stage have changed.
“After the elections in Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić lost, while his entire political apparatus failed even to cross the threshold. Almost all the leaders of the Illyrian Peninsula reacted, but Albania’s prime minister, Edvin Rama, remained silent. This silence shows that many projects planned together with Vučić, Grenell and Putin have been disrupted. Rama is unable either to mourn Vučić or to support his defeat,” Maraj said in a conversation with “Bota sot.”
According to him, the defeat is not merely political, as it is connected to projects drawn up in opposition to Albanian interests and geopolitical developments in the world.
“Vučić’s defeat is not only his defeat. It will also be reflected in Albania because the joint projects for partnerships, including those contrary to the national interest, have now failed. This does not mean that Serbia will pursue a peaceful policy, but that the actors in this tragic drama have changed,” Maraj said.
The analyst links Vučić’s defeat to corruption, organized crime, the criminalization of state institutions and support for criminal groups. He added that Albania’s Special Prosecution Office, SPAK, has uncovered many crimes similar to those in Serbia.
“Edvin Kristaq Rama’s partnership with Serbia has been far stronger than his partnership with Kosovo. This shows that Kosovo has been liberated from Serbia, while Albania still has Russian-Serbian networks. Otherwise, the continuity of these ties cannot be explained, from Esad Pasha Toptani and Enver Hoxha, to the organized exodus from Albania, July 2, 1990, the Crete Meeting, Milošević–Nano and now Edi Rama–Vučić,” he stressed.
Maraj considers it difficult to predict whether Albania will remain hostage to regional political agreements. Nevertheless, he warns that Serbia’s new authorities could take steps that would be of little importance to Kosovo but could be viewed positively by the European Union and the United States.
“A small Albanian state always faces problems with internal unity. These are linked to the weak economy, low prestige, interests in relations with other states in the region and the world, and the inability to respond to external pressures in various fields. This is a consequence of the fragmentation of Albania’s territories, a consequence from which Albania and Albanians continue to suffer today,” Maraj said.
He added that the Illyrian Peninsula continues to face successive disturbances caused, in his view, by the unjust division of Albanian territories.
“It is still too early to say whether Albania will be hostage to regional political agreements because this depends on how the unrest in Albania ends. It remains to be seen whether there will be early elections and what Albania’s relations with neighboring states, particularly Serbia, will be like afterward. Based on the bad experience we have had since 1878, we cannot be very hopeful. The unrest may end, but we could also face a situation similar to that of 1996/7, which would benefit no one,” he said.
According to Maraj, the new government in Serbia could take certain actions that would be considered positive political moves by the EU and the US, while Kosovo could face pressure to accept the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.
“This would mean creating a Serbian state within the state of Kosovo. Albanians in Macedonia and the Preševo Valley would also come under pressure in this situation,” Maraj underlined.
Asked whether the new developments could prompt Edi Rama to reconsider his position toward Kosovo or whether he would once again prioritize relations with Serbia, Maraj said he did not expect Rama to show national interest as long as he remains in power.
The analyst stressed that there is no sign that Rama regrets his relations with Serbia.
“This situation would require a profound scientific analysis of the Rama government’s leadership, followed by the drafting of a new governing plan that would serve the national interests of Albanians throughout their peninsula. But the factors that could bring about such a change are not yet clearly visible, and there are no figures on the scene who could implement it,” Maraj said.
He mentioned the protests by students and professors, but assessed that there is still no figure leading them with a clear project, apart from the demand that Edi Rama resign.
“Edi Rama is not expected to devote himself to the national interest as long as he remains in power. There is no sign that he regrets his unjustified support for Serbia. On the contrary, he has pressured the Kosovo government to accept Serbian demands concerning changes to the borders, the ‘Open Balkan’ initiative and other issues. It is more likely that he will follow the old path and support Serbia than correct the mistakes he has made,” the analyst concluded to “Bota sot.”
Several European and regional leaders have welcomed the result of the elections in Serbia. Official Tirana also reacted through the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which congratulated the student list and the Albanians of the Preševo Valley on the result. The ministry also underscored the importance of normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
