Ilija Srdanović may head the list of candidates – but he is not the movement's leader and would not necessarily be first choice prime minister if they won.

Srdanović insists that the Student List has a clear vision: "We offer to our citizens the core values of civilised society, which this previous regime has taken away from our citizens for the last time."

The other candidates on the Student List range from academics to athletes – and economists to engineers. None of them has a political background. But the students who selected them believe that is a strength, rather than a weakness.

"We've gathered people who are actually the best in their fields, and we really think that they are competent enough to rule the country," says Aleksandra, a student at Novi Sad University who only wants to give her first name.

"All of them are gathered around the same vision of a country where the freedom of speech is ruling, where you can walk to your home in the middle of the night and you will not be beaten up by some hooligans," she adds.

The Student List and its supporters say that Aleksandar Vučić and the SNS dominate state institutions and media coverage.

At the last parliamentary election in 2023, the International Election Observation Mission noted "overwhelming ruling party advantage" due to "bias in the media" and "misuse of public office and resources".

The BBC approached leading figures in the SNS for an interview but was not offered a response.

Protests followed, with participants accusing the authorities of corruption and having "blood on their hands".

"This is a problem for the government," says Magda Anastasijevic, the Eastern Europe analyst for the conflict monitor, ACLED.

"Vučić has survived this in the past, he was always able to find a scapegoat and blame whatever problems on them. This was not the case for the canopy."

On the diplomatic front, he has performed a delicate balancing act.

Membership talks with the EU continue, albeit fitfully, even as Serbia retains close ties with Russia and China – both countries that refuse to recognise Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.

Vučić has warned those links could be severed if the Student List took power.

"When you ask them: will you impose sanctions on Russia? Silence, umming and ah-ing, but no answer," he told the audience at a pre-election rally.

"You know what the Chinese think, you've heard what Vladimir Putin said. So you decide. Think about who has our best interests at heart."

The final rallies of the campaign saw the SNS stage an event at Belgrade Arena, with Aleksandar Vučić as the only speaker. But on the other side of the Sava River, the Student List attracted a reported 150,000 people in Slavija Square to listen to a mixture of students and candidates.

The contrasting visions were clear to see: the strong, sole leader – or a collective approach. Now Serbia's electorate must decide which they prefer.