Plenum‑selected student parties win elections

Decentralized student plenums and protest networks can be institutionalized into electoral lists that beat entrenched incumbents by turning grassroots deliberation into candidate slates and mobilization infrastructure. In Serbia, the Student List used plenums to select 250 non‑professional candidates and won a majority amid 70% turnout, prompting an unexpected concession from a 14‑year strongman. — If repeatable, this model offers a new pathway for protest movements to achieve durable power and for youth cohorts to bypass traditional party gatekeepers, altering how democracies and autocracies respond to mass dissent.