Student assembly selects female candidate for Serbian Parliament Speaker

According to unofficial information obtained by the outlet, Šćepanović received the most votes, making her the leading candidate for the position.

Her name had previously been mentioned as a possible nominee, alongside Professor Aleksandar Čupić, who was proposed by students at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering.

University faculties have been submitting nominations for positions in Parliament and Serbia's future government, with candidates subsequently selected through a voting process.

Following outgoing Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić's decision to schedule the inaugural parliamentary session for October 17, the Student List announced that it would name its candidate for Speaker.

Former National Bank of Serbia Governor Dejan Šoškić, an MP-elect from the "Student List – Students Win", said several days ago that the student movement would announce its candidate and that a consensus had already been reached on who should take the position.

Who is Katarina Šćepanović?

Katarina Šćepanović is a long-serving teacher at Belgrade's Philological High School who has supported the student protests and activities since the beginning of the university blockades.

She has also supported the teachers' movement and was subsequently included on the Student List.

After snap parliamentary elections were called for October 25, the student movement announced the establishment of the citizens' group "Student List – Students Win" and revealed the names of its 14 founding signatories.

Šćepanović was among those who signed the founding document. At the time, she said she had been honoured by the students' invitation.

"I was honoured by the invitation, and what ultimately convinced me to accept was that my own Faculty of Philology had invited me. That meant a great deal to me. I also felt a sense of duty towards the students of the Faculty of Philology," she explained.