Pro-government media in Serbia have falsely claimed that celebrated basketball player Dejan Bodiroga will lead a new student electoral list, according to a report by Srbin.info. The portal states the claim is a fabrication by media outlets aligned with President Aleksandar Vučić, intended to preemptively discredit the independent student movement ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 25 October 2026.

According to the portal’s unofficial information, the student list will have no single ‘bearer’ or leader, and its official name will not feature any individual’s name. Instead, it will feature 250 candidates ranked from first to last. The report states that University of Belgrade Rector Vladan Đokić and professor Mila Lompar have both been definitively vetoed and are removed from consideration for the list.

The student list is technically ready and will be published in the coming days, coinciding with a statement from student activist Marija Božović. The report frames the pro-government media’s promotion of various potential figureheads as a strategy to portray the student movement as a construct of established figures rather than a genuine grassroots initiative.

If the list is published without a single leading name, it would represent a significant departure from Serbia’s dominant political culture. The students’ core message remains a vote for systemic change rather than a new leader in an old position.