Five Lawmakers Form "Vojvodina With Students" Group
The Vojvodina With Students lawmakers' group in the provincial parliament brings together five deputies, and PSG's Vojvodina branch says its lawmaker joined without a party decision.
In the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, a new lawmakers’ group called “Vojvodina With Students” has been formed, with the announcement of its founding released on August 10, 2026. The group brings together five provincial lawmakers from three parties plus one independent mandate, and it marks the first time a caucus in the provincial parliament has openly tied its name to the student movement.
The group is made up of Ljiljana Gusic and Daniel Kovacic of the Democratic Party, Miroslav Ilic of the Movement of Free Citizens, Tatjana Ljubisic of the Green-Left Front, and independent provincial lawmaker Radivoje Jovovic. Some reports list Ilic with the title Prof. Dr and Jovovic with the title Assist. Prof. Dr.
The group’s statement says the students proved through their actions that fear can be defeated, that citizens can organize, and that injustice can be fought.
“At a moment when the institutions of the state are seriously undermined, and public trust in them is at a historic low, the student movement has managed to awaken hope and show that there is a force capable of moving society forward,” the new lawmakers’ group said.
The lawmakers said the group will back the student movement and its actions, both inside and outside the provincial assembly, as well as the citizens of Vojvodina and Serbia who share the same values. They also spelled out how they intend to do it.
“We will do this through concrete political action and by advocating for institutions to return to their basic purpose, to serve citizens rather than the political interests of individuals,” the statement said.
The group called on colleagues from the provincial parliament, as well as on representatives of citizens in local governments who share these values, to join them. “We see this step as the beginning of a broader alliance of everyone who believes Serbia can be organized as a democratic society in which the same rules apply to everyone,” the group said.
Why Did PSG Distance Itself From Its Lawmaker?
Less than a day later came a reaction from the party of one of the five. The Vojvodina Committee of the Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) said on August 11 at 10:53 a.m. that Ilic took part in forming the group in a personal capacity and without a decision by the Movement of Free Citizens.
In the same statement, the party restated its platform.
“The Movement of Free Citizens wants to once again clearly and unambiguously confirm its political position: real change of the system and long-term progress for our society can only be achieved by building a democratic, orderly and European Serbia and its full membership in the European Union. PSG stands by this principle consistently and without deviation. That is precisely why we, together with the Party of Freedom and Justice, Serbia Center and GP Solidarnost, formed the Platform for a European Serbia,” PSG said in the statement.
PSG added that the Platform for a European Serbia is not a rival to the student movement or to those who end up on the Students’ List, and that its goal is to offer citizens a political alternative that keeps the European path as a priority. The party did not announce disciplinary measures against Ilic, nor did it say it was withdrawing his mandate from the new group.
What This Step Means for the Province
The question of how opposition parties would position themselves toward the student list was already open before the group was founded, and we have previously covered the call from opposition ranks for parties to get behind that list. What is new is that this debate has, for the first time, spilled into an institution: instead of an agreement outside parliament, five lawmakers formalized the decision inside the provincial assembly.
Hence the difference in interpretation. For the five lawmakers, the group marks the start of a broader alliance; for PSG’s Vojvodina committee, it is the move of an individual that does not bind the party. The next test is the call the group issued, namely whether any other provincial lawmakers or local officials will join, and whether the parties whose members are already in the group will react the way PSG did.
