Aleksandar Vucic’s election defeat has ended more than a decade of political dominance and handed victory to Serbia’s student-led opposition movement.
But many questions remain: Who will lead the next government? Can the protest movement turn electoral success into stable rule? And what could the result mean for Serbia’s relations with the European Union and Russia?
RFE/RL's Balkan Service spoke with Ilija Srdanovic -- a cardiologist and university professor who was the lead candidate for the Student List electoral grouping that emerged from Serbia's anti-government protests -- about what comes next for both the movement and the country.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
RFE/RL: Mr. Srdanovic, how does it feel to be the leader of a list that has no leader, so to speak?
Ilija Srdanovic: Above all, I feel proud. I'm proud of all our citizens who saw the Student List as a way out of the situation Serbia had been in for years, living under the repressive system of an authoritarian government dominated by one man. That man has now passed into political history, having left an indelible mark of emptiness on our history for 15 years...
RFE/RL: When will it be publicly known who will be the candidate for prime minister and who will be the candidates for ministers?
Srdanovic: At this moment, I can give you the following answer: that the Republic Election Commission has not yet announced the final results of our elections.
From the final results of the electoral process -- which will not differ from the projections based on representative samples or the ballots processed so far -- the number of mandates will be more or less what it is.
However, the elections officially end the moment the Republic Election Commission announces the election results in accordance with the law.
From that moment, conditions are met for the next procedure, which is the formation of the new parliament, parliamentary bodies, and after that, a plan for forming the government.
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After More Than A Decade Of Vucic, What Comes Next For Serbia?RFE/RL: Will the name of the candidate for prime minister be determined within the Student List, or will you again seek consultations with forums at the faculties (university-based forums through which students organized and made collective decisions in the protest movement that gave rise to Student List)?
Srdanovic: The government will be formed in accordance with Serbia's laws and regulations. The choice of individuals for government posts will be made by the majority group of lawmakers from the Student List.
RFE/RL: Would you be ready to accept a potential candidacy? As the list leader, it seems logical somehow.
Srdanovic: Yes, but as you said at the beginning of our conversation, this is a list without a leader. We can say the following: For every position, we will collectively choose the candidate we believe will best serve the interests of Serbia's citizens.
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Who's In Charge? The Faces Of Serbia's Student-Backed Political MovementRFE/RL: Will you remain committed to European integration? Will you accelerate the process?
Srdanovic: We remain committed to European integration. Serbia committed itself to this process back in 2000, 26 years ago. That work will continue.
But what we can certainly promise is that we will not repeat what the previous government did: losing 20 percent of public support for European integration over 15 years.
That is the net outcome, the ultimate result of the previous government's policies.
We will certainly, on the basis of the same civilizational values -- respect for rights and equality, anti-corruption measures, the functioning of institutions, and media freedom -- fully align our country's domestic policy with Chapters 23 and 24 [of EU accession negotiations], which are the main obstacles to further progress toward European integration.
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Serbia Student List Lead Candidate Vows EU Integration, Open Debate On Russia Ties
RFE/RL: If there is one issue on which Europe is currently united, it is its approach to Russia. The Student List has stated that it will not impose sanctions on Russia. Doesn't something have to change? What will change in Serbia's relations with Moscow?
Srdanovic: First of all, as I said in my previous answer, the main condition for further European integration, and currently the biggest obstacle, concerns Chapters 23 and 24, which deal with human rights and the rule of law.
Unfortunately, until now, Serbia has lacked fundamental values such as freedom, rights, democracy, and media freedom. There has been no dialogue. Our citizens do not have complete information about what the European Union actually offers them.
A large number of citizens have been confined to a restricted media environment in which they have been fed falsehoods for more than a decade and a half.
As a result, they do not even fully understand the EU's agenda. Many of our citizens are simply uninformed.
RFE/RL: Are you suggesting that Serbia's relationship with Russia will also be reconsidered through public dialogue?
Srdanovic: There will certainly be a dialogue within our society.
Foreign policy must be shaped in accordance with the demands and the will of the majority of citizens, not the opinion of one person..."
All questions concerning international relations must be addressed through open dialogue among our citizens. These policies cannot be shaped by a single individual.
We have worked to ensure, and succeeded in ensuring, that a system in which one person decides where we are heading as a nation will never again take hold in Serbia.
We will open a dialogue and give our citizens the opportunity to choose the direction they believe is best for them. But that dialogue must be open and transparent, rather than shaped by the regime, as has been the case for the past 15 to 20 years.
RFE/RL: So, if I understand you correctly, Serbia's position on sanctions against Russia could be reconsidered?
Srdanovic: It could mean that the citizens of Serbia will ultimately decide on that relationship.
RFE/RL: How? Through a referendum? Help me understand.
Srdanovic: In much the same way as with relations with other countries. Foreign policy must be shaped in accordance with the demands and the will of the majority of citizens, not the opinion of one person or a very small group of people making decisions on their behalf. That is not democracy.
RFE/RL: The Student List has taken a clear position on Kosovo. But will you continue the dialogue with Kosovo aimed at normalizing relations? (The Student List opposes recognizing Kosovo, in line with Serbia’s official position since Pristina declared independence in 2008)
Srdanovic: Continuing the dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija is a fundamental part of the students' plan. Our entire platform for Serbia's domestic and international relations is based on respect for the constitution of the Republic of Serbia. Therefore, our platform for talks on Kosovo and Metohija, including its future, is also in line with Serbia's constitution. ("Kosovo and Metohija" is Serbia's official designation for Kosovo)
RFE/RL: So you remain committed to dialogue facilitated by the EU and full implementation?
Srdanovic: Absolutely. We remain open to dialogue and to resolving issues in the interests, first and foremost, of our citizens and everyone in the international community.
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What Now For Serbia After Vucic's Stunning Election Defeat?
RFE/RL: Does that also mean full implementation of the Brussels Agreement (an EU-brokered agreement in 2013 that established principles for normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo)?
Srdanovic: It means that, as a responsible society and a responsible government, we will respect internationally agreed protocols. All protocols agreed upon by our officials on behalf of Serbia may be reviewed to determine whether they comply with the constitution of the Republic of Serbia. That does not necessarily mean they will be reviewed, but they could be.
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Nationalist Parties, Dodik Dominate Bosnian Election Amid Low TurnoutRFE/RL: Has anyone from Milorad Dodik's circle of associates in Bosnia-Herzegovina contacted you? (Dodik is the former president of Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.)
Srdanovic: No, no.
RFE/RL: What kind of cooperation are you hoping for?
Srdanovic: A continuation of cooperation with Republika Srpska in the interests of the citizens of Serbia and Republika Srpska.
RFE/RL: Will the new government encourage the authorities in Republika Srpska to resolve their differences with Bosnia-Herzegovina's central authorities in Sarajevo?
"None of the members of our list bears responsibility for the events of the 1990s. But the previous government does.
Srdanovic: We will certainly help all citizens in the immediate surroundings of our state, and certainly the issue of Republika Srpska is extremely important. We will ask for dialogue to be conducted in the open, in an open manner, and for the best joint solutions to be found for all citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as the citizens of Republika Srpska.
RFE/RL: What position will you take Srebrenica? (In July 1995, during the Bosnian War, Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in a massacre ruled a genocide by a UN tribunal.)
Srdanovic: The position on Srebrenica has been defined by the courts. There are also internationally recognized documents adopted by our parliament in 2010. (Serbia's parliament adopted a declaration in 2010 condemning the Srebrenica massacre, but did not explicitly call it genocide.)
RFE/RL: There is also an international ruling of higher authority. I'm referring to the International Court of Justice's ruling that the crime committed in Srebrenica constituted genocide.
Srdanovic: Look, I would not put the focus on issues that had absolutely nothing to do with the elections or the electoral process in Serbia.
We cannot hold someone born after 2000 responsible for events that took place 40 years ago. Serbia's young people, those born after 2000, demanded change because of the country's internal problems. They asked us, a list of 250 candidates, to help them achieve that change.
We helped our young people overthrow a repressive, autocratic government led by an autocrat who was one of the main promoters of many of the things you are now discussing with me.
None of the members of our list bears responsibility for the events of the 1990s. But the previous government does.
Our future generation, born after 2000, wants to see what Serbia will look like in the years ahead.
We will leave the events of the past to historians to make their final assessments. The courts have already delivered their judgments. Those judgments exist, and historians should address important historical questions in the future.
Serbia's future lies ahead of us, and that is what we want to focus on.