00:00Alright, moving on to the big international story today.
00:03From India to France to Italy, students and the youth across the world have united, demanding rights and answers.
00:09But what happens when students don't just ask questions, but start challenging those in power?
00:14The answer is unfolding on the streets of Serbia.
00:17Cheers, car horns, dancing crowds, students shouting, victory.
00:23After nearly two years of protests, a student-led movement has dealt a major electoral blow to one of Serbia's
00:31most dominant political figures, Alexander Vusik.
00:35At the moment that made headlines around the world, Vusik himself conceded defeat.
00:41Now, the Serbian leader acknowledged that his political camp had lost the election.
00:56We don't have the final results yet. Many will be surprised and you will see how much some people lied
01:01and what they made up.
01:03I want to inform you that on the basis of a sample, it is clear that we have lost these
01:07elections.
01:08The student list has won. They will have between 135 and 140 seats and we will have 105.
01:15No one else has ended parliament.
01:22Look at that.
01:27But how did the students really get here?
01:30To understand this movement, let's rewind back to November of 24.
01:34The Novi Sad train station canopy had collapsed in an accident and killed 16 people in 2024.
01:40It was a tragedy. But for many Serbians, it also became a question of accountability.
01:47Accountability, a word that Gen Z loves.
01:50Students began protesting, demanding transparency, accountability and action against those responsible.
01:56What started as anger over a deadly infrastructure disaster soon grew into something much bigger.
02:04Universities became centres of resistance. Students organised campus blockades and mass demonstrations.
02:09Their demands expanded to include greater transparency and the rule of law and accountability from those in power.
02:17For nearly two years, the movement kept the pressure on the government.
02:21Jusik and the Serbian Progressive Party denied allegations of corruption and repression.
02:25But the protests continued. Then the party called snap parliamentary elections in September of 26.
02:32The vote on 25 October became a crucial test for his political standing.
02:40And the movement born on the streets translated into seats in parliament.
02:44And when Jusik acknowledged defeat, the grade erupted in celebration.
02:51Look at those visuals there. From Serbia, this is the turning point. But not the end of the story.
02:56A student movement has challenged a long dominant political establishment and secured a projected parliamentary majority.
03:02The next test, however, is whether it can deliver the change its supporters have demanded.
03:11My heart is going to explode. After two years of punishment of these people, of these young people who got
03:19arrested and beaten.
03:20He said, we won. We won. We won. And he lost. And we won by so much that he had
03:26to say that he lost.
03:29I am the happiest man in the world. And he is the biggest loser in the world.
03:36The feeling is surreal. I laughed. I cried. I screamed. I jumped. It's just unbelievable.
03:44After so many years of this tyranny and dictatorship, we are finally free. And that's, you cannot put it in
03:52words.
03:53It's a big relief. But we have to continue to make democracy. To continue.
04:03It was really hard to fight against corruption when everybody is, like, threatening you.
04:09And I am a student. I did the ride to Brussels for 20 days. This is an amazing thing.
04:24So we are there celebrating the student movement. Their elections are already over.
04:29But let me take you to a place where polls are just about to begin.
