After a year of protests, Serbian president steps down,

International

A RESIGNATION, two elections and more than a year of protests have brought Serbia to a political turning point, after President Aleksandar Vučić stepped down from office.

Vučić announced his resignation while addressing supporters outside the presidential building in Belgrade, defending his nine-year administration and saying it had preserved peace and stability.

Serbia is set to hold snap parliamentary elections in late October, followed by a presidential vote. Vučić announced his intention to resign in June and is now seeking to lead his Progressive Party into the parliamentary election as its candidate for prime minister.

The political crisis escalated after the roof of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed in 2024, killing 16 people. The disaster triggered allegations of government failures and corner-cutting, with protesters connecting the tragedy to more than a decade of Progressive Party rule. Vučić had closely associated himself with the station’s renovation, which had been promoted as a symbol of Serbia’s progress.

The protests soon grew beyond the railway disaster, bringing students, teachers, workers and farmers into the streets. Demonstrators called for accountability and later added early parliamentary elections to their demands.

Several officials resigned after the collapse, but the demonstrations continued through the summer, with unrest later fueled by allegations of police brutality.

Vučić’s presidential mandate was due to expire next year. Serbia’s constitution bars him from seeking a third presidential term and requires a presidential election within three months of a president’s resignation.

Vučić has said the presidential vote will be held more than a month after the parliamentary election. Parliament speaker Ana Brnabić, a member of the Progressive Party, will serve as interim president until a successor is elected.

Before leaving office, Vučić pardoned 49 people, including 23 students and party supporters accused of offences linked to the unrest. Serbian public broadcaster RTS reported that he referred to the events as the “terrible events we have gone through over the past year and a half”.

The parliamentary election will feature Vučić’s Progressive Party, Students Win, a student-led anti-corruption movement, and European Serbia, a coalition of pro-Western opposition parties.

Vučić has been a central figure in Serbian politics for more than a decade. He became prime minister in 2014 before being elected president in 2017. He has backed Serbia’s bid to join the European Union while maintaining close ties with Russia and expanding economic relations with China.(MyTVCebu)