Embattled Serbian president resigns, paving way for early elections

Serbia’s embattled president steps down, opening the door to early elections

Serbia’s president has resigned after more than a year of student-led protests and mounting public anger over accusations of government corruption.

Aleksandar Vučić told supporters gathered outside the presidential building in the capital, Belgrade, that his administration had maintained peace and stability throughout his nine years in office.

He had already said in June that he intended to resign, and he is now set to stand as his party’s candidate for prime minister in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Under Serbia’s constitution, Vučić cannot seek a third presidential term.

The pro-Russian populist’s government has faced persistent anger over alleged corner-cutting.

The collapse of the roof at Novi Sad railway station, which killed 16 people, was what first sparked public outrage against the government in 2024.

That led to protests involving a broad mix of people, from students and teachers to workers and farmers.

Demonstrators saw the tragedy as a reflection of more than a decade of rule by Vučić’s Progressive Party, with Vučić closely tied to the station’s renovation, which had been meant to stand as a symbol of Serbia’s progress.

A string of resignations by officials under the embattled president did not satisfy protesters, who kept demonstrating through the summer and later turned to unrest after accusations of police brutality.

Vučić’s presidency was due to end next year. Under Serbia’s constitution, a presidential election must be held within three months of his resignation.

That means Serbians will vote twice before the year is out.

Vučić said the presidential election will be held more than a month after the snap parliamentary election in late October, which was itself called in response to the protests, after they added demands for a vote to their list.

He had earlier said he planned to run in that election as leader of the Progressive Party, keeping open the possibility that he could remain at the top of Serbian politics.

Parliamentary speaker Ana Brnabić, also a member of the Progressive Party, will serve as interim president until a new one is chosen.

Vučić used his constitutional authority to pardon 49 people, including 23 students and party loyalists suspected of offences linked to what he described as the “terrible events we have gone through over the past year and a half,” according to Serbian public broadcaster RTS.

The coming parliamentary elections will pit Vučić’s Progressive Party against a student-led anti-corruption movement called Students Win and a coalition of pro-Western opposition parties known as European Serbia.

Vučić has been a central figure in Serbian politics for more than a decade, becoming prime minister in 2014 before winning his first presidential term in 2017.

He has said publicly that he wants Serbia to join the EU while also pursuing close ties with Russia and opening the country to Chinese investment.