Early parliamentary elections will be held in Serbia on 25 October 2026 to elect members of the National Assembly. Originally scheduled to be held by December 2027, Aleksandar Vučić, the president of Serbia, called the elections earlier in September 2026.

The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) came to power in 2012 after forming a government with Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). In the 2023 parliamentary election, SNS regained its parliamentary majority. Protests were briefly organised after the elections due to alleged electoral fraud. Miloš Vučević became the prime minister of Serbia in May 2024. In the aftermath of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse in November 2024, the student-led anti-corruption protests began, while in January 2025, Vučević announced his resignation from office. He was succeeded by Đuro Macut in April. In 2026, changes to several election laws were adopted by the National Assembly.

SNS nominated Vučić as candidate for Prime Minister and head of the United Serbia electoral list prior to the elections, which he resigned as President in 27 September. The students have announced their participation in the elections as the Student List, having been endorsed by some parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political parties. Ilija Srdanović is their ballot holder.

Background A populist coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), came to power after the 2012 election, along with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). Aleksandar Vučić, who initially served as deputy prime minister of Serbia and later as prime minister of Serbia, was elected president of Serbia in 2017 and re-elected in 2022. Since he came to power, observers have assessed that Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, followed by a decline in media freedom and civil liberties. The V-Dem Institute has categorised Serbia as an electoral autocracy since 2014, while Freedom House noted in 2024 that SNS "eroded political rights and civil liberties, put pressure on independent media, the opposition, and civil society organisations". On the other hand, supporters highlight the pragmatism of SNS and Vučić, as well as economic growth.

On 17 December 2023, a snap parliamentary election was held in Serbia. The election resulted in a victory of the SNS-led Serbia Must Not Stop electoral alliance that won a majority of seats in the National Assembly of Serbia. The second place was obtained by Serbia Against Violence (SPN), a broad coalition of opposition parties, that won 65 seats in total. The SPS electoral alliance, however, collapsed in popularity and only won 18 seats, its worst result since the 2007 parliamentary election. Despite this, according to non-governmental and monitoring organisations, the election day was marked with electoral fraud and irregularities such as the Bulgarian train and vote buying. After the election, protests were held up to 30 December, with its organisers, including SPN, calling for the results to be annulled. Amidst the protests, a riot occurred after an unsuccessful attempt from opposition councillors to enter the building of the City Assembly of Belgrade. After several months of negotiations, SNS formed a new government on 2 May, with Miloš Vučević, the president of SNS, as prime minister.

Student-led protests

In the aftermath of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse in November 2024, ministers Goran Vesić and Tomislav Momirović announced their resignation from office. Their resignation was acknowledged by the National Assembly on 25 November. Student-led anti-corruption protests also began in November 2024, with one of the demands being the release of Novi Sad railway station canopy documents to the public. At the protest on Slavija Square on 22 December, it was estimated that 100,000 demonstrators were present at the protest. A major series of civil disobedience that were promoted as a "general strike" also occurred on 24 January 2025. At a 15 March protest, it was estimated that over 325,000 demonstrators were present.

After a group of students were physically attacked in Novi Sad, Vučević announced his resignation from office on 28 January. His resignation was acknowledged by the National Assembly on 19 March. Đuro Macut succeeded Vučević as prime minister on 16 April. Macut is the third independent politician to be nominated for the office of prime minister of Serbia. After his inauguration, the student movement also demanded a snap parliamentary election to be held and announced that they would participate in the upcoming election.

As of 2026, the protests are still being held. The latest largest one was held on 23 May, attended by between 180,000 and 190,000 people, according to the non-governmental organisation Archive of Public Gatherings.

Electoral system The 250 members of the National Assembly are elected by closed-list proportional representation from a single nationwide constituency. Eligible voters vote for electoral lists, on which the candidates of the accepted lists are present. A maximum of 250 candidates could be present on a single electoral list. An electoral list could be submitted by a registered political party, a coalition of political parties, or a citizens' group. To submit an electoral list, at least 10,000 valid signatures must be collected, though ethnic minority parties only need to collect 5,000 signatures to qualify on the ballot. At least 40% of candidates on electoral lists must be female. The electoral list is submitted by its chosen representative or representatives. An electoral list could be declined, after which those who had submitted can fix the deficiencies in a span of 48 hours, or rejected, if the person is not authorised to nominate candidates. The name and date of the election, names of the electoral lists and its representatives, and information on how to vote are only present on the voting ballot.

The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), local election commissions, and polling boards oversee the election. Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method with an electoral threshold of 3% of all votes cast, although the threshold is waived for ethnic minority parties. The seats are distributed by dividing the total number of votes received by the electoral list participating in the distribution of seats by each number from one to 250. If two or more electoral lists receive the same quotients on the basis of which the seat is distributed, the electoral list that received the greater number of votes has priority. Parliamentary seats are awarded to candidates from electoral lists according to their order, starting with the first candidate from an electoral list.

A parliamentary election is called by the president of Serbia, who also has to announce its date and dissolve the National Assembly in the process. To vote, a person has to be a citizen and resident of Serbia and at least 18 years old. For those who live abroad, they are able to vote at diplomatic missions. At least five days before the election, citizens are notified about the election; citizens receive information about the day and time of the election and the address of the polling station where they can vote. Election silence begins two days before the voting day, and it lasts until the closure of all polling stations. During the election day, eligible voters could vote from 07:00 (UTC+01:00) to 20:00, though if the polling station is opened later than 07:00, voting is then extended by the amount of time for which the opening of the polling station was delayed. Voters who are not able to vote at polling stations due to being sick, old, or invalid have to inform their election commission between 7:00 and 11:00 so that they could vote on the election day from their home after 11:00.

Election date By law, the next parliamentary election should take place by 31 December 2027. The election could be scheduled earlier. Vučić announced in 2024 that the next parliamentary election and presidential election would be held on the same date in 2027, thus making it a general election. Vučević also echoed that elections would not be held prior 2027. However, Darko Glišić, the president of the executive board of SNS, said that there could still be a possibility of holding elections earlier despite the government's plan being to complete the entire four-year mandate. Political analyst Dragomir Anđelković argued that the next parliamentary election would be only held after the completion of the Expo 2027 fair and the expansion of the Belgrade Waterfront project.

During the student-led anti-corruption protests, Vučić and Vučević suggested holding snap elections in response to the opposition's call for the formation of a transitional government. In the aftermath of Vučević's resignation announcement, it was suggested that either snap elections would be called or a new government would be formed. In March 2025, Vučić suggested holding elections on 1 or 8 June if a new government was not to be formed by 18 April. However, Vučić nominated Đuro Macut as Vučević's successor in early April, who succeeded Vučević as prime minister on 16 April. In December 2025, Vučić suggested that elections could be held in May or December 2026, while beginning in 2026, he suggested that they could be held during fall. In August 2026, Vučić said that the elections could be held on either 18 or 25 October; Vučić has to call the elections by 3 or 10 September, respectively, for the elections to be held on those dates. The Radio Television of Serbia subsequently announced that the elections will be held on 25 October. Vučić dissolved the National Assembly and scheduled the elections on 9 September for the elections to be held on 25 October.

Bloomberg Adria reported that Vučić considers holding the election before March 2027. In April 2026, Vučić suggested that parliamentary elections could be held by Vidovdan (28 June). He then held consultations with various political parties about early elections, including the Movement of Socialists (PS), Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), Justice and Reconciliation Party (SPP), Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS), We – Voice from the People (MI–GIN), SPS, Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, Social Democratic Party of Serbia (SDPS), SNS, and United Trade Unions of Serbia "Sloga". Opposition parties declined to take part in the consultations. Aleksandar Vulin of PS, Bálint Pásztor of VMSZ, and Branko Pavlović of MI–GIN said that they opposed early elections, while Usame Zukorlić of SPP said that his party was ready for early elections. PUPS and SDPS expressed concern about the current political atmosphere, while Vučević of SNS said that his party "is always ready for elections" (spremna za izbore kad god budu održani). Vučić later consulted with United Serbia (JS), Greens of Serbia (Zeleni), Russian Party (RS), People's Party (Narodna), Alternative for Changes (AZP), United Peasant Party (USS), Strength of Serbia Movement (PSS), Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), and Serbian Radical Party (SRS).

Election conditions