Serbian President Vucic says he will resign within weeks; move comes amid student protests
By Aleksandar Vasovic
BELGRADE, June 27 (Reuters) – Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday he will resign within weeks after 18 months of anti-government protests and the country will hold early presidential and parliamentary elections.
The announcement by Vucic, who has been in power as president or prime minister for 12 years, comes amid persistent anti-corruption demonstrations led by students triggered by the collapse of an awning at a train station in the northern city of Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people.
Protesters, opposition and human rights groups claim the train station disaster is a sign of government mismanagement of construction projects and corruption.
“I will only be president for a few more weeks and then I will resign,” Vucic told supporters at a pro-government rally in the capital Belgrade. Vucic’s second and final term was expected to end in mid-2027.
Vucic said he would help the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) he leads win the presidential elections and early parliamentary elections, also scheduled for 2027.
“My proposal is that our list, which is our winning list in the upcoming elections, should be called ‘United Serbia’.”
He did not specify when he would resign or dissolve parliament, a prerequisite for early parliamentary elections.
‘IT IS NOT THE END OF VUCIC’
Vucic is unlikely to leave the political scene because his resignation could pave the way for him to become prime minister if his party wins the parliamentary elections. This will continue a long trend in which the powers that be in Serbia follow Vucic regardless of his title.
Analysts have said Vucic will try to install an ally in the presidency so he can continue to hold on to power.
“This is definitely not the end of Vucic,” said Warsaw-based analyst Radivoje Grujic. “He already has a plan, it certainly doesn’t mean he will go into political retirement; quite the opposite.”
Still, the timing of Saturday’s announcement suggests the protests, the largest series of demonstrations since Slobodan Milosevic’s ouster in 2000, are playing a role.
Days ago, students in the city of Novi Sad commemorated the victims of the disaster and demanded early general elections. Another student rally is planned for Sunday in the town of Kraljevo in south-central Serbia.
Activists from the student-led movement and the opposition have said they want to challenge Vucic and the SNS in the elections.
Savo Manojlovic, head of the student opposition Move-Change movement, said: “By resigning and holding early presidential and parliamentary elections, Vucic is trying to prevent his inevitable decline due to protests and the student movement that has more support than him.”
WILL VUCIC BE PRIME MINISTER AGAIN?
The position of president in Serbia is largely ceremonial, but Vucic wields considerable influence over his party and government.
He has already floated the idea of becoming prime minister again, and recently some of his top allies have publicly said he should do so.
In an interview with Reuters in February, Vucic said he was unsure what he would do after his term ends, but did not rule out seeking a return to party politics or becoming prime minister.
“I would like to be less involved in politics or not at all, but looking after my legacy may require some kind of responsibility; we’ll see,” he said.
During the rally in the sweltering heat, Vucic told his supporters, many of whom had arrived by bus from across the country, that students and anti-government protesters aimed to destroy the country, and he denied the protesters’ charges and accused them of colluding with unnamed foreign powers.
“For the thousand and one time we extend our hand to you. We forgive everything you have done, but we are not naive and we will not forget what was done to the country last year.”
SERBIA WALKS THE LINE BETWEEN THE EU AND RUSSIA
Serbia is a candidate to join the EU, but Belgrade still has strong ties with Russia and China; It’s a line Vucic has had to walk throughout his time in power.
Before joining the EU, Serbia needs to improve the rule of law, including conditions for free and fair elections, and root out corruption and organized crime. It also has to align its foreign policy with the bloc’s policies.
Vucic vowed on Saturday that his party would put an end to corruption. He promised increases in pensions and financial allocations for the poor and improvements in state-run healthcare.
But opposition figures have accused Vucic and his allies of using violence against political opponents, widespread corruption, links to organized crime and restricting media freedoms. Vucic and his allies deny these allegations.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic and Edward McAllister, Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Rod Nickel)
