Serbian President Vučić Resigns Ahead of Parliamentary Elections

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced his resignation as head of state, saying the whole country needs to focus on the upcoming parliamentary elections, which will be held on October 25 and will determine Serbia's future course.

Before submitting his resignation, the 56-year-old Vučić addressed the nation on public television. "I call for full focus, for absolute concentration on the parliamentary elections and on winning them, because it is precisely the parliamentary elections that will determine the direction Serbia takes," he said.

What happens next

Under Serbian law, a presidential election must be called within three months of the president's resignation. Vučić assured that it would not be held earlier than a month after the parliamentary vote.

On September 9, Vučić dissolved parliament and called an early election for October 25. His party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), had already nominated him for prime minister. Students, who have been sharply critical of Vučić for the past two years, are also expected to run in the election — given how fragmented the parliamentary opposition is, a student list could turn out to be his most serious rival.

Protests and criticism of Vučić

The early parliamentary election comes after more than a year and a half of anti-government protests. They began with demonstrations demanding accountability for the November 2024 tragedy in Novi Sad, where 16 people died when a railway station canopy collapsed. Many in Serbia link the tragedy to corruption, and one of the demands of the protesters, led by striking students, was precisely that early elections be called.

Vučić has been in power in Serbia since 2012 and is regarded as the dominant figure in Serbian politics. He won decisive victories in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, although critics say the voting did not take place under fully fair conditions. Vučić's presidential term was due to expire in the first half of next year, after which he would no longer have been able to run for the post again; both domestic and foreign critics accuse him of authoritarian tendencies.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz