Protesters storm Serbian Informer TV studio as Student List awaits government formation

The studio raid

On Monday evening, 26 October 2026, roughly 30 protesters entered Informer's premises in Belgrade while a live programme with the channel's owner and editor-in-chief, Dragan Vučićević, was on air. The crowd surrounded him and demanded that he answer for the channel's coverage during the anti-government protests. Among the chants were lines that translate as 'This is how it is in free Serbia' and 'Where is Vučić now?', and some demonstrators called for the owner to be arrested. Protesters pushed Vučićević out of the premises, which interrupted the broadcast. When police arrived, some people threw stones and damaged the building's display window.

Accusations against Informer

Informer had repeatedly been at the centre of complaints about its journalism and its treatment of the previous government's critics. During the student protests, the channel was accused of systematically targeting protesters, activists and journalists, whom it portrayed as enemies of the state, foreign agents or people serving foreign interests. Complaints cited in the coverage say the channel published personal data of students and journalists, including photos, home addresses and phone numbers. Opposition journalists were also singled out, with material from their private lives and families shown on air and with accusations that they were paid from the West. The channel has been described as the main propaganda outlet of Aleksandar Vučić.

The Student List and the constitutional deadlines

The Student List, which won the parliamentary elections, has not yet formed a government and is waiting for the institutional process to run its course. According to the coverage, the party condemned the attacks on media and called for respect for institutions. Under the constitution, the new Assembly cannot convene until the Central Electoral Commission (RIK) has examined all objections and validated the results and the election of deputies. That step must be completed within 10 days of the end of the electoral process. Once it is done, the president of the previous Assembly must convene the founding session of the new National Assembly within 30 days of the final results being announced. Ana Brnabić, who was president of the previous Assembly, has been acting president since 27 September, after Vučić resigned from the post. If she uses the full constitutional time limits for reasons of political expediency, the Student List would have to wait at least another month before it can form a government.

Public broadcaster and calls for resignations

The public broadcaster of Vojvodina apologised for the biased stance it took in previous years, according to the coverage. Students are demanding that the leadership of Serbian public television resign. The reporting describes the outgoing leadership as still exercising power, with the government, the prosecution and the security forces described as fully controlled by Vučić's party. The same coverage says this situation is fuelling tension and unease in society. Whether the government can be formed in the coming weeks now depends on the RIK's review and on how the acting president uses the deadlines.