Aleksandar Vucic, the former Serbian president, commenced his campaign for prime minister with a rally at Belgrade Arena on Saturday, drawing thousands of supporters to the capital. The event featured buses transporting attendees from across the country and was broadcast by dozens of television channels throughout Serbia. Vucic made pledges of comprehensive victory in the forthcoming parliamentary vote, scheduled for October 25.
The snap election comes after Vucic resigned from the presidency on September 27, ending his second term more than seven months early. Having held dominant positions in Serbian governance as either president or prime minister since 2014, Vucic is now barred from pursuing a third presidential term. His strategy involves seeking to maintain power through a parliamentary route, with expectations that a parliamentary majority would result in his election as prime minister.
Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party faces competition from a student-led protest movement that has organized a political force called the Student List. This coalition encompasses university professors, teachers, and experts from across the political spectrum. The movement emerged from sustained antigovernment protests spanning nearly two years and has centered demands for accountability regarding a November 1, 2024, train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad that resulted in 16 deaths. The movement has expanded into a nationwide political force challenging the incumbent government on issues of accountability and corruption.
Vucic has characterized the opposition movement as seeking to disrupt Serbia and alleged, without substantiation, that foreign intelligence services support the effort. During his Saturday address to supporters, he asserted confidence in victory absent such external intervention. Polling data indicates the election between Vucic’s party and the student-backed movement could prove competitive.
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