Photo: Collected
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has resigned. He made the decision amid more than a year of student-led protests and growing public anger over allegations of government corruption.
He spoke to supporters outside the presidential palace in the capital, Belgrade. Vucic said his nine years in power had brought peace and stability to the country. He announced his intention to step down in June. He is now seeking to become his party’s prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Under the constitution, he cannot run for a third term as president.
Aleksandar Vucic/Collected
The pro-Russian populist leader’s government has been under fire from the start, with allegations of undercutting construction work. In 2024, the roof of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed, killing 16 people. This incident was the first to spark public anger against the government.
People from all walks of life joined the movement. Students, teachers, workers, and farmers took to the streets. The country’s tennis star Novak Djokovic supported the movement. However, the greatest tennis legend in history ultimately had to leave the country because of this support.
Activists say the accident is a reflection of the failures of more than a decade of rule by Vučić’s Progressive Party, which had been closely involved in the renovation of the station, which was supposed to be a symbol of Serbia’s progress.
Several officials under Vučić resigned one by one. But that did not calm the protesters. Protests continued throughout the summer. The protests turned violent after allegations of police abuse.
Vučić’s term was due to end next year. According to the constitution, a presidential election must be held within three months of resignation. So the people of Serbia will vote twice before the end of this year. Vučić said that early parliamentary elections will be held in late October. The presidential election will be held more than a month later. The early parliamentary elections have been called under pressure from the movement. The demand for votes was also added to the list of demands of the protesters.
Vučić had previously announced that he would run in the election as the leader of the Progressive Party, giving him a chance to remain at the top of Serbian politics.
Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić, also a member of the Progressive Party, will serve as interim president until a new president is elected.
Vučić has used his constitutional powers to pardon 49 people. Among them are 23 students and a few party loyalists. According to Serbian state broadcaster RTS, they were suspected of various crimes related to the events of the past year and a half. Vučić called the events “terrible events, which we have been through in the past year and a half.”
Vučić’s Progressive Party will face two parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections: the student-led anti-corruption movement “Students Win” and the pro-Western opposition alliance “European Serbia.”
Vučić has been a familiar face in Serbian politics for more than a decade. He became prime minister in 2014. He was first elected president in 2017. He has publicly said that he wants Serbia to join the European Union. But at the same time, he has maintained close ties with Russia. He has also opened the country to Chinese investment.