Serbia: Protests continue after Vucic says he will step down
Student-led demonstrations continued even after President Vucic announced his plan to resign within weeks. For more than 18 months, demonstrators have kept Vucic under pressure
Student-led demonstrations continued even after President Vucic announced his plan to resign within weeks. For more than 18 months, demonstrators have kept Vucic under pressure. Thousands of protesters on Sunday rallied in central Serbia, a day after President Aleksandar Vucic said he would step down within weeks following more than a year of student-led protests. "The students are winning," Nemanja Karovic, a Belgrade professor who supports the movement, told the crowd from a stage in the main square in Kraljevo, some 170 kilometres (105 miles) south of the capital Belgrade. Serbia has seen regular student-led, anti-government protests since the collapse of a railway station canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad in November 2024.
The incident, which killed 16 people, has been widely blamed on broader government mismanagement of construction projects and systemic corruption. Can Serbia's student movement turn protest into power? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video President Vucic says he plans to resign within weeks Vucic has branded protesters "foreign agents" who seek to overthrow the government, and has rejected calls for early elections before he is officially due to step down in 2027. However, on Saturday, Vucic told his supporters at a pro-government rally in Belgrade that he would be president "for only a couple more weeks." "And then I will resign," he added, without giving further details on the election timeline.
Vucic also said he would help his ruling Serbian Progressive Party in the next election. Vucic says his ruling party will win 'more convincingly than ever' in upcoming election [FILE: June 27, 2026] Image: Djordje Kojadinovic/REUTERS Vucic, a dominant figure in Serbian politics According to Serbia's election law, Vucic, who is currently serving his second term, cannot run again for president. However, it is expected that after his resignation, Vucic will seek to return to power as prime minister, an office he held from 2014 to 2017. Though the president of Serbia serves only a ceremonial role under the constitution, Vucic has wielded considerable power over his party and the government.
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