Serbia's student-led protest movement is mounting its biggest challenge yet to former president Aleksandar Vucic, as voters prepare to elect a new parliament on Sunday after nearly two years of demonstrations against alleged corruption.
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More than 100,000 people gathered in Belgrade in support of Serbia's youth movement on Thursday, in the final campaign rally ahead of polls that could see an end to the 12-year rule of populist strongman Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Crowds chanted "victory" ahead of Sunday's vote, which comes after two years of student-led protests against Vucic.
The movement, which is fielding 250 candidates under the Student List banner, emerged after the collapse of a canopy at the newly renovated Novi Sad railway station killed 16 people.
The disaster fuelled public anger over alleged corruption and negligence, turning demands for accountability into a nationwide campaign against the government.
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'Students are winning'
The students' campaign has attracted support beyond university campuses, drawing in farmers, actors, doctors and other professionals.
Several opposition parties have withdrawn in favour of the Student List, which has deliberately distanced itself from established political groups.
"I came to support the Student List because young people finally gave me hope that it is possible to live in a normal country," 47-year-old Marija Nedeljkovic Radic told French news agency AFP, as she arrived for the students' rally.
"Really, for the first time in my life, I believe that it's possible," she said.
"We are putting an end to 14 years of humiliation, chaos and betrayal, and to decades of putting personal and party interests above yours," university professor Jugoslav Gasic, one of 250 candidates on the Student List, told the crowd.
"You deserve better, and we know how to deliver it. Students are winning."
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Contrasting polls
Vucic has been in power for 12 years, either as prime minister or president.
Faced with the growing opposition, he resigned as president in September and called snap elections – one of the students' key demands – to run for prime minister and extend his hold on Serbian politics.
Vucic has repeatedly accused the protesters of attempting a foreign-backed coup.
"Let us never forget how they tried to bring down our state. Let us always protect and defend it," he told his supporters on Thursday. "Let us go out and defeat them. Defeat them decisively."
Serbia lacks reliable independent polling, and surveys have produced widely differing results.
One published this week put the Student List ahead of Vucic's SNS party by 44.5 percent to 42.7 percent. Another, conducted in September, put the SNS 11 points ahead.
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Intimidation and surveillance
The Student List candidates were selected through assemblies at universities and come from across Serbian society, including academics, doctors and scientists.
As well as fighting corruption, the movement promises to reform healthcare, housing and public institutions.
"The energy is unstoppable," said Ilija Srdanović, a cardiology professor and a leading candidate in the movement.
However, the ruling party has strong support from pro-government media outlets.
Activists have reported intimidation, arrests and surveillance, while digital rights group SHARE Foundation said people linked to the movement had been targeted with sophisticated spyware.
Serbian authorities have denied knowledge of the alleged spying.
Civil society groups have warned that conditions for a "free and fair" election were lacking.
"This assessment is not based on isolated incidents, opposition claims or political disagreement with the government," 24 organisations said in a recent joint statement, citing documented findings rather than isolated incidents.
(with newswires)