"Based on a stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost the election," Vucic told supporters at the party's headquarters in Belgrade late Sunday evening.
He is referring to statistics based on various variables. They show that the relatively new - and largely leaderless - opposition movement Student List has performed better than the SNS in the election, the AFP news agency reports.
This brings to an end 14 years of SNS rule in the country. Vucic left the presidency a few weeks ago with the aim of becoming prime minister if he won the election.
Vucic blamed the loss on Serbia's independent media, alleged interference by unnamed European countries and the US "deep state," the AP reports.
“Victory, victory!”
When Vucic conceded defeat, celebrations erupted on the streets of the capital, Belgrade. Passing cars honked their horns, and crowds began celebrating near the election authority headquarters.
At the Student List headquarters, supporters cried and cheered. They hugged each other while shouting:
Victory, victory!
Student Mila Martic was at the headquarters:
"It feels incredible. It feels like I finally live in a free country," she said.
Even as long queues formed outside polling stations across the country, many suspected that a high turnout would benefit the Student List.
With two hours left before polling stations closed, authorities reported that nearly 65 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots. This compares with a total turnout of just under 59 percent in 2023.
Voter turnout will be the highest since at least 1993.
Massive demonstrations
Despite around 18 parties competing for the 250 seats in parliament, the election was seen from the outset as a referendum between the SNS and the Student List.
"I voted in the hope of change... it cannot continue as it has for the past 14 years," Marija Spasenovic told AFP outside a polling station in Belgrade, highlighting the need to fight corruption and ensure the rule of law.
The Student List started as a grassroots student movement against corruption in the wake of a roof collapse in Novi Sad in 2024 that killed 16 people.
The tragedy triggered massive anti-government demonstrations, which finally led Vucic to call elections in September.
Corrected: A previous version contained an incorrect description of Aleksandar Vucic's title.
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