In the run-up to the snap parliamentary elections in Serbia on 25 October, Reuters, activists and human rights organisations have reported incidents of violence against protesters, pressure on the media and attacks using spyware. Former President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107, who resigned in September, is standing for the post of Prime Minister; the authorities deny allegations of repression and state surveillance, and those responsible for a number of specific incidents have not been identified.<\/p>\n
Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n The election campaign is taking place following nearly two years of protests, which began after a canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024. Sixteen people died in the incident, and the tragedy sparked student protests and calls for officials to be held to account.<\/p>\n The student movement put forward 250 candidates. According to a poll by New Serbian Political Thought, cited by Reuters on 20 October, the student list had 44.5% support compared with 42.7% for Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s Serbian Progressive Party. This poll reflects the mood at the time it was conducted, not the outcome of the vote.<\/p>\n Head of the Centre for Practical Policy Dragan Popovi\u0107<\/strong> He told Reuters that as political competition intensifies, so too does the pressure on the pro-democracy section of society. This is his assessment of the pre-election situation.<\/p>\n In the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Serbia 104th out of 180. RSF described this result as the worst among the 40 countries in the \u00abEU\u2013Balkans\u00bb region.<\/p>\n As of August, according to RSF, six Serbian journalists were working in exile, four of whom had left the country in 2026. The organisation attributes this to security threats arising from political attacks.<\/p>\n The [Name] Foundation Slavka Churuvia <\/strong>recorded at least 182 verbal attacks by Vu\u010di\u0107 on journalists and the media between January and September 2026. Vu\u010di\u0107 denied intimidating the press and stated that he had not shut down any news outlets.<\/p>\n Transparency International\u2019s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index gave Serbia a score of 33 out of 100 and ranked it 116th out of 182 countries and territories. Transparency Serbia described this as the country\u2019s worst result in two decades; the index measures perceptions of corruption in the public sector, rather than the number of proven offences.<\/p>\n In September, the SHARE Foundation reported that at least 14 people in Serbia had been attacked or targeted using advanced spyware since the start of the year. Those named included members of the student movement, activists, a Member of Parliament and a local opposition politician.<\/p>\n On 19 October, Citizen Lab, in collaboration with SHARE, reported at least 16 publicly known targets or infected members of civil society. Researchers established with a high degree of certainty that the device of Vladan \u0110oki\u0107, Rector of the University of Belgrade, had been infected with Pegasus; in the case of opposition figure Rade Bai\u0107, they cited the Apple Threat Notification as a highly reliable indicator of targeting.<\/p>\n\n
The student movement has become the main challenge for the SNS<\/h2>\n
Indices and media organisations are recording a deterioration in the environment<\/h2>\n
The number of known targets of spyware has risen to 16<\/h2>\n