Vucic says he will resign in weeks, Serbia heads to elections

Aleksandar Vucic said he would resign within weeks and force early presidential and parliamentary elections, setting up a new political timetable after 18 months of pressure from Serbia’s protest movement. His second and final presidential term was not due to end until mid-2027, and he gave no exact date for his resignation or the vote.

Vucic made the announcement at a pro-government rally in Belgrade, telling supporters, “I will be president for only a couple of weeks, and then I will resign.” He has been in power as either president or prime minister for about 12 years, first winning the presidency in 2017 and then securing re-election in 2022.

The pressure built after the collapse of an awning at Novi Sad’s main railway station on 1 November 2024 killed 16 people and became a symbol of public anger over corruption, weak oversight and poor accountability in major infrastructure projects. That disaster triggered Serbia’s largest anti-government demonstrations in years, with student-led protests spreading well beyond the city where the collapse occurred.

European Parliament research put demonstrations in Novi Sad at as many as 100,000 people, while rallies in Belgrade reached similar scale. The movement drew many first-time protesters and younger Serbians, including members of Generation Z, and its core demands centered on justice, rule of law and accountability.

Vucic’s opponents see the resignation pledge as an attempt to choose the moment of confrontation before the protest movement grows stronger. Savo Manojlovic, who leads the student opposition Move-Change Movement, said the plan is meant to pre-empt Vucic’s fall, and activists from the student-led movement and the broader opposition want to challenge Vucic and the Serbian Progressive Party in the elections.

Serbia is still a candidate for European Union membership, and Brussels has pressed it to improve rule of law, electoral fairness and anti-corruption enforcement before accession can advance. European Commission and OSCE documents from 2025 list persistent rule-of-law problems, and OSCE election officials have urged urgent continued electoral reform and more space for civil society.