The State Department said Monday it has seen the preliminary Serbia election results, including former President Aleksandar Vucic’s concession, a spokesperson told The Pavlovic Today exclusively.

“We welcome the Serbian people’s participation in their parliamentary elections,” the spokesperson said. “We have seen the preliminary results, including former President Vucic’s concession.”

The State Department also signaled that Washington intends to maintain and expand its relationship with Serbia under its incoming leadership.

“We look forward to continuing to expand our partnership with Serbia’s newly elected members of parliament, and people as we build on the momentum created in the last year, including with the launch of the Strategic Dialogue,” the spokesperson said.

The reference to the Strategic Dialogue is significant as Serbia prepares for a peaceful transfer of power. The United States and Serbia have sought to use the dialogue as a framework for deeper cooperation across areas including trade, energy, defense, regional security, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.

The bilateral relationship also carries an important economic dimension. As The Pavlovic Today recently reported exclusively, the United States is preparing for a major presence at EXPO 2027 in Belgrade.

Vucic conceded defeat Sunday night.

With nearly 99 percent of ballots counted, the student-backed list had won 52.7 percent of the vote and 139 seats in Serbia’s 250-seat parliament, while Vucic’s alliance had 39.2 percent and 97 seats, according to preliminary results reported Monday. The 139 seats would give the student-backed list an outright majority.

The result ends more than a decade of SNS-led rule and marks a major political shift in Serbia.

U.S. attention now turns to the student-backed movement and how it will translate its electoral victory into a governing majority. How the new leadership answers some of the most consequential questions about Serbia’s political direction and foreign policy, including the future of bilateral relations with the United States, will be a central focus in Washington in the weeks ahead.

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Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Pavlovic Today. Credentialed at the White House, the U.S. Senate Press Gallery and the State Department. Pavlovic was a Teaching Fellow and Doctoral Fellow in the Political...