Serbian president promises to quit and call early poll
Serbia’s populist president Aleksandar Vucic, who is under pressure after months of anti-government protests, said he will resign within a few weeks and early presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in the country.
The announcement by Vucic, who has been in power for 13 years, comes after a year and a half of sometimes violent anti-corruption protests triggered by the collapse of an awning at a train station in the northern city of Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people.
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 southeastern Serbian town of Kraljevo.
“I will only be president for a few 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 it would help the Serbian Progressive Party win presidential elections and early parliamentary elections, also scheduled for 2027. He did not specify when he would resign or dissolve parliament, a prerequisite for early parliamentary elections.
Savo Manojlovic, head of the student opposition Movement for Change, said: “By resigning and early presidential and parliamentary elections, Vucic is trying to head off his inevitable downfall due to protests and the student movement, which has more support than him.”
Protesters, opposition and human rights groups claim the train station disaster is a sign of government mismanagement of construction projects and corruption.
They also accuse 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.
Activists from the student-led movement and opposition parties have said they want to challenge Vucic and the SNS in the elections.
Serbia is a candidate to join the EU, but Belgrade must first improve the rule of law, including conditions for free and fair elections, and root out corruption and organized crime.
It also needs to align its foreign policies with those of the bloc, including sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
