Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says he will resign in ‘weeks’ | Election News

Vucic is under pressure after months of anti-government protests.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic he says he will be down for a few “weeks”.

Vucic announced his plans to resign on Saturday, opening the first presidential and parliamentary elections.

This follows months of youth-led protests that have marred his tenure as president.

“I will be president for a few weeks, then I will resign,” Vucic told supporters at a pro-government rally in the capital, Belgrade.

“We will win more definitely than before,” he said, telling the crowd that he would support his far-right Serbian Progressive Party in the upcoming elections and that this was the last time he would address them as President of Serbia.

Vucic did not specify when he would step down or when elections – for parliament or a new president – would take place.

The president’s second and final term was due to end in mid-2027.

Vucic has gradually consolidated his power since his populist party seized power in Serbia 14 years ago.

The resignation comes amid months of anti-government protests that have swept the country.

Tens of thousands of people have been get together across Serbia from November 2024, when a Novi Sad An accident at a railway station killed 16 people and angered the government.

Hundreds of people were arrested and the Serbian police have been accused of excessive force and arbitrary detention by the European Union. The protests led to the resignation of the former Prime Minister Milos Vucevic in January 2025.

Vucic, who has dominated Serbian politics for more than a decade, has repeatedly called the opposition “foreign agents”, accusing them of “expanding divisions” and seeking a coup.

In response to Vucic’s meeting, students are due to hold a rally on Sunday in Kraljevo, central Serbia, urging international solidarity while calling for early elections.