Student-led list wins 140 seats as Serbia parliament convenes Nov. 17

Serbia’s newly elected parliament is scheduled to convene November 17, after the October 25 election gave the student-led Students’ List 140 of 250 seats, compared with 103 for the Serbian Progressive Party and seven for minority parties. Lawmakers will confirm their mandates, elect a speaker and other parliamentary officers, and form committees; the 90-day period for forming a government will begin once the parliamentary process is complete. The movement’s victory followed years of protests sparked by a deadly train-station canopy collapse that protesters and others blamed on corruption, and its mostly inexperienced candidates have pledged to strengthen the rule of law and tackle corruption. Serbia is also due to hold an early presidential election by year’s end after Aleksandar Vučić resigned from the office.