Serbia’s Vucic Calls Early Parliamentary Elections for October 25

Aleksandar Vucic signs the decision on early elections, September 9, 2026. Photo: Instagram/buducnostsrbijeav. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday set a date for early parliamentary elections on October 25, signing a decree dissolving parliament and the decision calling the elections – in which he is expected to run for prime minister, facing down a strong challenge from opponents. “We need election results that will clearly demonstrate and determine the will of the citizens as to where, in what direction, and along which path Serbia is heading,” he said, adding that Serbia has been enduring “turbulence for more than a year and a half”. Student-led protests have gripped the country since November 2024, sparked by the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that left 16 people dead, sparking nationwide outrage over alleged official corruption and negligence. The protests have posed the strongest challenge to Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party since it came to power in 2012. Vucic claimed the “turbulence” in society was not merely the result of “conflicts between political parties or political actors here in Serbia” but also involved “significant interference by foreign powers”. He and his Progressive Party have often claimed that foreign states, including European countries, have been involved in supporting or inciting the student-led protests. In his comments on Tuesday, however, he also insisted that Serbia, an EU candidate state, had chosen “a good European path, while [also] preserving traditional friendships, national pride, and dignity” – referencing Belgrade’s continued friendly relationship with Russia. As one of the reasons for calling early elections, Vucic cited the organisation of the high-profile international EXPO 2027 exhibition, which will be held in Belgrade starting in May next year. “If it were not for these tensions, if it were not for these political disagreements and conflicts, we certainly would not need [elections]. But any delay would jeopardise both EXPO and the survival of democracy as the best form of political system in our country,” he said. On Monday, Prime Minister Djuro Macut proposed the dissolution of parliament, which was adopted by the government and sent to the President as part of the official procedure. Many experts see the upcoming elections as the most challenging for Vucic and his party since 2012. The main opponent this time is Student List, made by the students who have been protesting. Its official candidates have been chosen by student groups whose names haven’t been published yet. “The elections have been called after 492 days. It’s time for victory,” student organising group Students Blockade wrote on X on Tuesday. It was alluding to May 2025, when it first publicly demanded early elections. Last Saturday, the Main Board of the Progressive Party named Vucic as their candidate for prime minister and as first on the electoral list “Aleksandar Vucic – United Serbia” at the upcoming elections. At the December 2023 elections, the Progressive Party won 46.75 per cent of the votes, while the largest opposition coalition, Serbia against Violence, won 23.66 per cent. The Progressive Party’s junior partner, the Socialist Party of Serbia, SPS, won 6.55 per cent.