Aleksandar Vučić has resigned as Serbia’s president, bowing out after a year and more of student-driven demonstrations over corruption claims, and immediately set his sights on returning to power as prime minister.
Addressing a crowd outside the presidential building in Belgrade on 27 September, the populist leader argued his administration had kept the country calm and stable across nine years in office. He had signalled his intention to quit as far back as June, and he is now seeking to lead the next government as his party’s candidate for prime minister.
The constitution barred him from a third presidential term in any case, and his mandate had eight months left to run. The charter requires a presidential election within three months of a resignation, so Serbians will head to the polls twice before year’s end: snap parliamentary elections on 25 October, then a presidential vote Vučić says will come more than a month later.
The road here began with the Novi Sad railway station roof falling in 2024, killing 16 people. A renovation Vučić personally championed as a showcase of Serbian progress instead became the spark for protests that drew students, teachers, workers and farmers, swelled at their peak to a 325,000-strong rally, and later escalated into unrest after accusations of police brutality. A string of resignations among his subordinates failed to calm the streets.
His party has ruled for more than a decade; Vučić served as prime minister from 2014 and won the presidency in 2017. On his way out he pardoned 49 people, among them 23 students and party loyalists facing charges tied to the “terrible events we have gone through over the past year and a half,” as he put it. Serbian public broadcaster RTS reported the remarks.
Parliamentary speaker Ana Brnabić, a fellow Progressive, steps in as interim president until the vote. The parliamentary race pits his Progressive Party against Students Win, the student-led movement against corruption, and European Serbia, a pro-Western opposition coalition.
A Western Balkans pre-election report sees two scenarios: Vučić returns as prime minister, with a loyalist successor limiting himself to ceremonial duties in the presidency, or the student list wins and Serbia faces hard coalition talks and an uncertain political direction. Whether the students will field their own presidential candidate is still an open question.
Vučić has long pitched Serbian membership of the EU while keeping warm ties with Russia and opening the country to Chinese investment. Whichever way the double election breaks, the voters who forced this moment with a year of marches will be watching what actually changes.
Sources
- Embattled Serbian president resigns, paving way for early elections
- SERBIA: Serbia Elections 2026: Vučić Resigns in Bid to Retain Power
