Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announces resignation within weeks, triggering early elections

On June 27, 2026, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced he will resign within weeks, triggering early presidential and parliamentary elections. The decision follows 18 months of student-led protests, intensified by a November 2024 railway station collapse in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. While Vučić claims he is stepping down to support his Serbian Progressive Party, analysts speculate he aims to return as prime minister, a post he held from 2014 to 2017, to maintain his grip on power.

Vučić resignation announcement

• ▪Aleksandar Vučić stated he would help his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party win the upcoming early elections
• ▪Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on June 27, 2026, that he will resign from his post within weeks
• ▪Aleksandar Vučić's second and final presidential mandate was originally scheduled to expire in mid-2027

Early elections timing

• ▪Under Serbian law, the president must dissolve parliament before early legislative elections can be officially held
• ▪Aleksandar Vučić did not specify the exact dates for his resignation or for the early presidential and parliamentary elections

Novi Sad station collapse

• ▪Protesters and opposition groups allege the Novi Sad railway station disaster resulted from corruption and government mismanagement of construction projects
• ▪A concrete canopy collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024 killed 16 people, triggering widespread anti-government protests

Student protest movement

• ▪Aleksandar Vučić accused the student protesters of being foreign agents colluding with unnamed foreign powers to destroy the country
• ▪Student-led anti-government protests demanding early elections and accountability have persisted in Serbia for approximately 18 months
• ▪Former Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned in January 2025 following intense political pressure from the ongoing protests

Prime minister return speculation

• ▪Political analysts and allies speculate that Aleksandar Vučić's resignation is a maneuver to seek the office of prime minister
• ▪Aleksandar Vučić previously served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2014 to 2017

Serbia EU candidacy challenges

• ▪The European Union has criticized Serbia for democratic backsliding, media clampdowns, and the police's use of excessive force during protests
• ▪Serbia is a candidate for European Union membership but must improve its rule of law, combat corruption, and align its foreign policy