Protests in Serbia continue despite Vucic’s promise to quit | Objections

Demonstrators doubt the long-serving president will hand over power despite promises to step down

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the central Serbian city of Kraljevo, refusing to ease their pressure on President Aleksandar Vucic despite his promise to step down and open the door to early elections.

Vucic announced at a meeting in Belgrade on Saturday that he will resign within a few weeks, a move that will end, essentially, the control of a person who has run Serbia as president or prime minister for 12 years.

However, there was little relief among the thousands of people who gathered in Kraljevo on Sunday. Under Serbia’s constitution, Vucic cannot seek another term as president under any circumstances and many activists and pundits expect him to step down as prime minister and hand over the leadership to a loyal ally, avoiding power.

Rather than sounding defeated at the Belgrade conference, Vucic spoke confidently, predicting that his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, which has ruled the country for 14 years, will “win more decisively than ever” in the next election.

He did not specify a date for his departure or the election, leaving his opponents uncertain about what will happen next. These rival meetings showed that the world would be divided in two.

In the heart of anger and tragedy at the end of 2024, when the roof of a train gave way in the city of Novi Sad in the north, killing 16 people.

Protesters blame the disaster on corruption and shoddy work in major government projects, turning into a symbol of a corrupt and unaccountable government.

Vucic denies any corruption and has repeatedly dismissed the protests as “foreign agents” seeking to topple him.

The campaign has grown into the largest protests since the Serbian ouster of dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

Police have rounded up hundreds of people in months of unrest, accusing the European Union of police brutality and shutting down demonstrations without justification.