Serbian President Vucic resigns and announces his candidacy in early elections

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced his resignation, clearing the way for his candidacy as head of government in the early elections on October 25th. “I am resigning as president,” Vucic told supporters at the presidential palace in Belgrade on Sunday. “Tomorrow morning I will hand over my official duties to the President of Parliament,” he announced.

Actually, a new parliament should not be elected in Serbia until December 2027. However, under pressure from the opposition, Vucic dissolved parliament at the beginning of September and called new elections.

Protests have been taking place regularly in the country since a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people. Initially, the focus was primarily on the cause of the accident, but as it progressed, the demonstrations, which were mainly carried out by students, were generally directed against the government and the widespread corruption in the country.