Serbia's Vučić resigns as president to run for prime minister
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has stepped down to compete in an early parliamentary election on 25 October, seeking to become prime minister instead. The vote comes amid nearly two years of student-led protests following a deadly train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad.
Serbia's populist president, Aleksandar Vučić, has resigned from office to lead his ruling Serbian Progressive party (SNS) in an early parliamentary election set for 25 October, in a bid to become prime minister. His second presidential term would have ended next May regardless, since the constitution bars him from a third term.
Vučić has held power as either president or prime minister for 12 years, while his party has governed for 14. The SNS now faces its toughest challenge yet from a youth-driven movement born out of protests following the November 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. What began as a demand for accountability over the disaster has grown into a broader anti-corruption movement threatening to end SNS rule.
Ana Brnabić, a close Vučić ally, former prime minister and the outgoing parliamentary speaker, will serve as acting president. Once a new parliament is elected, its speaker will appoint a prime minister and set a date for a presidential election.
In recent weeks Vučić toured the country, opening roads and promising financial aid and cheaper medicine, with heavy coverage from pro-government media. Serbia's independent Bureau for Social Research has filed a complaint accusing him of misusing the presidency to promote his party — an allegation he rejects — while government-controlled anti-corruption bodies have not responded.
The student-backed electoral list features relatively unknown professionals, including academics, teachers and athletes. Analysts say Vučić's party and the student movement are running neck and neck in polls, creating a referendum-like contest. Also competing are Vučić's Socialist party allies, a pro-EU opposition alliance and several smaller parties.
Authorities have responded to protesters with police crackdowns and detentions, and Vučić has claimed without evidence that opponents and critical media are working with unnamed foreign backers to destabilise the state. Serbia's EU accession bid remains stalled amid democratic backsliding and the government's refusal to join sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
