Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declared on Saturday that he plans to step down from his position in the forthcoming weeks, while also issuing a formal call for early presidential and parliamentary elections to take place.
Addressing a crowd of supporters at a rally held in Belgrade, Vucic stated, “I will be president for only a few weeks, and then I will resign.” His current tenure, which represents his second and final term in office, was originally set to conclude in the middle of 2027.
This political shift follows approximately eighteen months of persistent, student-led protests throughout the country. The civil unrest was ignited by a tragic incident in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, where the collapse of a railway station canopy resulted in the deaths of 16 individuals. Those taking part in the demonstrations have consistently called for the government to hold early elections.
Vucic noted that he intends to actively assist his political faction, the Serbian Progressive Party, in securing a victory during the upcoming electoral process, which will encompass snap parliamentary elections that were initially slated to occur next year. However, the president did not provide a specific timeline for his official departure, nor did he name a date for the dissolution of parliament, which remains a mandatory procedural step to facilitate early legislative voting.
