Serbian President Vučić announces resignation within weeks, calls early elections

A sudden announcement

At a pro-government rally in Belgrade on Saturday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić declared he would resign within weeks and support his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in early presidential and parliamentary elections. His second and final term was due to end in mid-2027.

“I will be president only for a few more weeks and then I will resign.”

Vučić provided no exact date for his departure or for the dissolution of parliament, a prerequisite for the early parliamentary vote. Both elections were originally scheduled for 2027.

Pressure from the streets

The decision follows a year and a half of mass, often violent, anti-corruption demonstrations led by student activists. Anger surged after the canopy at Novi Sad railway station collapsed in November 2024, killing 16 people. Critics say the disaster exposed mismanagement and endemic graft in government construction projects.

Only days before Vučić’s announcement, students in Novi Sad commemorated the victims and demanded immediate general elections. Another student gathering is planned for Sunday in the south-eastern city of Kraljevo.

Opposition sees a tactical retreat

Opposition figures interpret the move as an attempt to regain initiative rather than a capitulation. Savo Manojlović, head of the student opposition movement ‘Kreni-Promeni’ (Start-Change), dismissed the resignation as a gambit.

“With his resignation and early elections, Vučić is trying to preempt his inevitable fall, which is coming as a result of the protests and a student movement that now enjoys greater support than he does.”

Demonstrators, opposition parties, and human rights organisations argue the railway station collapse was symptomatic of deeper governance failures and have vowed to challenge Vučić and the SNS at the ballot box.

What next?

Vučić pledged to help his party win the coming elections but left the timeline vague. The constitution requires parliamentary dissolution before a legislative vote, and the president must formally step down. Whether opposition parties can capitalise on the protest movement’s momentum remains uncertain, but the stage is now set for the most consequential political transition in Serbia in over a decade.