Magyar: 'Surely I wasn't the only one feeling nostalgic'

Péter Magyar, who came to power after ousting Viktor Orbán earlier in 2026, reacted emotionally to the scenes of celebration in Serbia, according to the report. He remarked that what he called the "Budapest Express" had already reached Belgrade in politics once before, on the tracks.

What the projections show

The celebrations followed serbia election results projections reported on Monday, 26 October 2026, under which a grassroots opposition movement led by students unseated Serbia's former president Aleksandar Vučić. The CeSID projection puts the student-led movement on 140 seats, well clear of the 126 needed for a majority in the new parliament.

• •The student-led movement is projected to hold 140 seats in the new parliament
• •Vučić's bloc is projected to win 103 seats
• •No other party crossed the 3% electoral threshold
• •National minority parties take the remaining seven seats

Hopes for a new opening with the EU

The students' projected win has raised hopes for a new opening in Serbia's relations with the EU and other partners.

Elsewhere in Europe

• •Bulgaria's presidential vote first round saw a record-low turnout of 22%, with the second round to be held this Sunday
• •French PM Sébastien Lecornu meets student unions in the afternoon for talks that could be pivotal for the future of the protests in France
• •E5 defence ministers - France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK - are meeting in Paris for discussions on Ukraine
• •Slovakia's foreign minister Juraj Blanár is in Moscow for energy talks with Russia

International observers are due to present their preliminary report on the Serbian vote in the early afternoon of 26 October 2026.