Wire reporting: (AP, via Local 10)

Serbians voted Sunday in a snap parliamentary election that France 24 described as the country's most contested in more than 14 years, pitting Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party against a student-backed list that grew out of nearly two years of protests⁵.

About 6.4 million people were eligible to choose among 18 lists competing for 250 seats, though coverage treated the contest as a two-way referendum between the Progressive Party and the Students' List^5,6.

The parties were reported as close in polling, with high turnout expected and a risk that smaller lists would fall below the 3 percent threshold for seats^5,6.

The student protests followed the 2024 collapse of a concrete canopy at a train station in northern Serbia that killed 16 people, which demonstrators tied to demands for accountability⁵.

Vucic resigned the presidency last month to lead the campaign and would become prime minister if his party won the most votes after two near-full terms as president⁵.

The European Union, which Serbia seeks to join, was watching the vote after monitors cited detentions, government dominance of media, and reports of surveillance and cyberattacks against activists, France 24 reported⁵.

Local elections earlier this year in 10 municipalities included attacks on journalists and activists, and the 2023 parliamentary vote was followed by opposition protests alleging fraud⁵.

AP reported voters queued at polling places early Sunday. Ilija Srdanovic, listed as the first of 250 candidates for the youth movement, voted in Novi Sad and said the lines pointed to high turnout⁶.

The state election commission was not expected to release an official tally before Monday. Results, any majority, and how observers will assess the vote remain unknown^5,6.