Student List: Saicic Demands Respect for Voters' Will

Radomir Saicic, a professor at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Chemistry and a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, spoke from the election headquarters of the Student List on Sunday evening, October 25, and demanded that the result of the parliamentary elections be respected. His address came after Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat for the United Serbia list.

According to Danas, Vucic conceded at about 9:30 p.m. at the headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). At a press conference he said that, after the first results, it was clear the Student List had won about 135 seats and his list about 105. That is an estimate from one side, not an official result.

What did Saicic say from the headquarters?

The speech began like this: “Dear Serbia, tonight the voice of the people is heard, tonight the voice of freedom is heard.” Saicic went on:

Citizens of Serbia have shown that no obstacle is greater than their will, that no fear is stronger than their courage

He said citizens at home and abroad had shown with their votes that they care about the country’s future. He then added the demand that became the main message of the night:

That will must be respected. Without exception, without excuses and without any attempt to redraw what the citizens have clearly said

According to him, preliminary results show the Student List leading at polling stations. Saicic also stressed that the victory belongs to everyone: “This victory is nobody’s personal trophy. It belongs to all of us.”

How did he call on supporters to celebrate?

Saicic urged supporters to mark the victory calmly and with dignity. “A great victory carries great responsibility,” he said, and, as Blic recorded it, added: “I call on everyone not to get into conflicts.” Provocations, he said, should be answered with dignity, insults with calm, and attempts at division with even stronger solidarity.

He described the day after as the start of the work:

And tomorrow? Tomorrow the work begins. Serious, responsible and hard work of building a Serbia where the law applies equally to everyone.

He closed with the words: “Tonight we celebrate the victory, from tomorrow we build the future. Long live freedom!” The parts of the speech carried by the media contain no cabinet lineup and no concrete institutional steps, and Saicic said only that change would not be easy.

What did Srdanovic and Soskic say?

Before the speech, the chant “Victory, pump it, pump it” rang out at the headquarters, and the crowd, according to N1, sang “Serbia is waking up”. List leader Ilija Srdanovic said Serbia had won and that he was proud of a people who knew how to say “no” to a tyrant. “We are heading toward a civilized and better Serbia,” he said. In a statement to Nova.rs he said of journalists: “The journalistic profession, like Serbia, has shown that truth wins. That there are only journalists and those who are not. As for all of those who are not, we know how they will end up.”

Professor Dejan Soskic was brief in his statement to Nova.rs: “I am proud. Thank you all. I expected such a convincing victory.” No response from Vucic or the SNS to Srdanovic’s remarks about a tyrant appears in the statements published so far.

What happened before the concession?

The first address from the headquarters came after the polls closed, and Nova.rs published it at 8:51 p.m. Student Sonja Simonovic said then that the list had started its own count: “This is a historic moment and historic turnout. The latest figure we have is that more than 4,350,000 citizens have voted.” That figure comes from the Student List, not from the Republic Electoral Commission. Danas also reported at 9:05 p.m. that, according to the list’s sample, turnout at 8 p.m. was 69.1 percent, not counting the diaspora.

List candidate Dejan Bodiroga, a former basketball player, urged citizens to stay with the poll watchers: “Stay at your posts, stay with our observers and help make sure every vote is preserved peacefully and with dignity.” He added that Serbia “is not in Belgrade, Serbia is in Serbia,” and that the closing of the polls did not end the electoral process, since vote counting, tally records and the handover of materials to local commissions were still to come. He also repeated the students’ call to Belgraders:

We call on the citizens of Belgrade not to gather at places where additional police presence has been noticed

He ended with “Safely, calmly and with dignity to the end.” Neither Nova.rs nor N1 reports a response from the police or the Interior Ministry to the claim about police and plainclothes officers gathering.

How did the Democratic Party leader react?

Srdjan Milivojevic, president of the Democratic Party, said in the evening, at 9:27 p.m. according to N1: “In the choice between the mafia and Serbia, Serbia won, that is now perfectly clear.” He added: “Turnout and other indicators recorded in these elections bear witness to that.” According to the indicators available to the Democratic Party, he said, this is the largest turnout since the multiparty victory of the democratic forces after October 5.

Nothing in the address from the Student List headquarters points to a complaint to the Republic Electoral Commission or to protests. Saicic asked only that the result not be redrawn.