Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic has resigned the post to pursue a bid to become the prime minister in an upcoming early parliamentary election BELGRADE, Serbia -- Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic resigned Sunday to pursue a bid to become prime minister in an upcoming early parliamentary election that will test his firm rule in the Balkan country, which was rattled by nearly two years of protests. Vucic’s second presidential term would otherwise end in May next year. He is banned by the Serbian Constitution from seeking a third term and said he was resigning to lead his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party in the Oct. 25 ballot.
The governing populists face a major challenge at the ballot box from a youth-backed movement that led the protests triggered by the Nov. 1, 2024, train station canopy collapse that killed 16 people in the northern city of Novi Sad. University students demanded accountability for the tragedy. Their struggle for justice and against corruption has grown into a strong movement that will attempt to oust Vucic’s government after 14 years in power.
Vucic himself has been either prime minister or president for the past 12 years. The ballot in October will be held against a backdrop of high political tensions as Vucic’s populists seek to remain in office despite widespread popular discontent. His decision to run for prime minister is seen as a carefully planned maneuver to retain a top position, and to boost his party’s chances against the student movement.
Before signing his resignation, Vucic briefly addressed his supporters outside the presidency building in Belgrade. He said “tonight is a very special occasion for me, my last evening in this beautiful building.” “But I look to the future with joy, new victories await us,” he told the crowd as they chanted his name. He has opened new roads, offered assistance money and cheaper medicines, and visited voters in their homes.
More recently, Vucic was filmed driving in his brother’s car to some of the events. The prime minister in Serbia is formally more powerful than the president. But Vucic still took a dominant role during his two five-year terms, sometimes presiding over government sessions and routinely announcing all important decisions and plans.
The Independent Bureau for Social Research, or BIRODI, has filed a complaint alleging that Vucic has abused a public institution as president to promote his party, which he has dismissed. There has been no response from the anti-corruption authorities that are under government control. After Vucic’s resignation, the acting president will be a close ally and former prime minister, Ana Brnabic, who is the outgoing speaker of Serbia’s 250-member Parliament.
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