Aleksandar Vučić resigns ahead of Serbia’s parliamentary election

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić signed his resignation on Sunday, 27 September, as he prepares to take part in the country’s 25 October parliamentary election. The move brings forward a presidential succession while his governing Serbian Progressive Party faces a student-backed challenge after nearly two years of protests.

The Serbian government said Vučić signed the resignation after addressing the public in Belgrade. He said he wanted to participate in the parliamentary election as an ordinary citizen. Reuters reported that leaving the presidency would allow him to be appointed prime minister if his party forms the next government; the election has yet to take place.

An announced handover and a new presidential vote

The government said Vučić planned to hand presidential duties to National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić on Monday morning. Brnabić is expected to serve as acting president after that handover. The government’s announcement did not establish that the transfer had already taken place.

Vučić said a presidential election must be held by the end of December. Reuters reported that Serbia’s constitution requires an election within 90 days. His resignation came about seven months before his second five-year presidential term was due to expire, according to Reuters.

Why the October vote matters

The 25 October parliamentary election was already scheduled before the resignation. Vučić signed the decree dissolving parliament and the decision calling the early vote on 9 September, following a government proposal made two days earlier, according to the Serbian government. The vote will determine the next parliament and which parties can form a government.

Reuters described the contest as one between the Serbian Progressive Party and its allies, the student-led Students Win movement, and European Serbia, an alliance of pro-Western opposition parties. A possible premiership for Vučić therefore depends on the parliamentary result and the formation of a new government. Reuters said the parties challenging his party had not yet named presidential candidates in its 27 September report.

The election follows protests that began after a railway-station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people. Associated Press reported that demonstrators demanded accountability for the disaster and an end to corruption they blamed for substandard renovation work. The protest movement went on to press for an early parliamentary election.

The student-backed challenge has turned the election into a test of the governing party’s hold on power. For more background on the resignation and the two votes ahead, see our earlier report on Serbia’s elections.

Protests and competing claims

Reuters reported that rights groups have accused Vučić and his allies of increasingly authoritarian rule. Authorities have denied allegations made by anti-government protesters that police beat and unfairly detained them. Those disputes form part of the political backdrop to the election, but neither the resignation nor the scheduled vote resolves them.

Vučić said on Sunday that he had granted amnesty and a pardon to 49 people arrested or tried in connection with the protests, Reuters reported. He said the group included 12 activists and 11 of his supporters. Reuters also reported that several officials, including two ministers, had been arrested or resigned after the Novi Sad disaster, while the government repeatedly denied protesters’ accusations.

The immediate next step is the announced transfer of presidential duties to Brnabić. Voters then face the parliamentary election on 25 October and a separate presidential election due by the end of December. The names of all presidential candidates, the parliamentary result and any subsequent choice of prime minister remain open.