Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced his resignation on 27 June, without specifying exactly when he would tender it.
Speaking at a rally of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SPS) in Belgrade, Vučić told thousands of supporters that he “will remain president for just a few more weeks”.
“These are my final days and weeks as President of the Republic. That is when I will step down. I have told the leadership of the Serbian Progressive Party that in the upcoming elections I will help us win the people’s trust for the next four years,” he said.
He also announced that the list of the Progressives and their coalition partners for the elections would be called “United Serbia”. However, he did not specify exactly when the elections would be called.
In part of his speech, Vučić levelled accusations at the student movement, whilst at the same time calling for dialogue.
“We have not forgotten, nor will we ever forget, everything that has been done to our country over the past year and a half,” he said, accusing unnamed politicians and centres abroad – without providing any evidence – of interfering in the country’s political processes, according to Radio Free Europe’s Balkan Service.
Vučić has been facing mass anti-government protests since November 2024. They began after a canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad, killing 16 people. Initially, protesters demanded an investigation into the tragedy and that those responsible be held to account, but the protests were subsequently led by students, who are supported by the opposition and representatives of civil society. They are calling for a tougher crackdown on corruption and the calling of snap elections.
In January 2025, against a backdrop of protests and an attack on students in Novi Sad, the country’s Prime Minister, Miloš Vučević, resigned.