A day after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he would resign and open the way for early presidential and parliamentary elections, thousands of demonstrators are expected in the Serbian city of Kraljevo, writes the British agency Reuters today.
According to the agency, Vučić, who was in power as prime minister or president for 12 years, faced several months of protests led by students, which were fueled by the demolition of a concrete canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad in late 2024, when 16 people died.
That incident became a symbol of what many see as government mismanagement and corruption under Vučić, and the protests that followed were the largest in Serbia since the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000, the agency says, and indicates that Vučić denies any corruption.
He also cites the words of a female protester who says that this is not a political fight but a fight between good and evil.
People ignored the heat and came to Kraljevo where vendors sold t-shirts with the words “Students are winning”, reports Reuters and adds that what were first requests for justice for those who died in the fall of the canopy later turned into calls for Vučić’s departure from power and for early elections.
Although many protesters feel victorious after Vucic’s announcement, they do not expect him to disappear from the political scene, according to Reuters.
Analysts say that he could try to run for prime minister and appoint an ally to the presidency so that he can continue to hold power, the agency writes.
The agency quotes the words of one protester who says that he cannot imagine that Vučić will resign and leave power to someone else.
The agency points out that Serbia is at the eastern door of the EU and a candidate for accession to the bloc, but that Belgrade still has strong ties with Russia and China, which, it adds, is a line that Vućić had to tread carefully.
Before joining the EU, Serbia must improve the rule of law, including the conditions for free and fair elections, and eradicate corruption and organized crime, according to Reuters, adding that Serbia must also harmonize its foreign policy with the bloc’s foreign policy and establish ties with its former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.
Brussels and Moscow will be watching to see how things unfold in the coming weeks, according to Reuters.
The agency added that the EU condemned the use of force against peaceful protesters and expressed concern about the freedom of the media and the independence of the judiciary.
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