VUČIĆ RESIGNS AS SERBIAN PRESIDENT TO RUN FOR PRIME MINISTER

Aleksandar Vučić has resigned as Serbia's president to stand as the Serbian Progressive Party's candidate for prime minister in the parliamentary election set for 25 October. He announced the move on Sunday, telling supporters outside the Presidency building in Belgrade: "This is the last evening for me in this building." Serbia's constitution bars him from seeking a third presidential term, which would otherwise have run until May next year. Vučić has held the post of prime minister or president since 2014.

The election follows nearly two years of protests sparked by the collapse of a canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people and was widely linked to corruption. A student-led movement demanded accountability and later called for snap elections, drawing what were described as some of Serbia's largest protests in decades. Vučić called the October vote earlier this month, citing "major turbulence on the domestic political scene." Serbia's independent Bureau for Social Research has filed a complaint alleging Vučić used his position as president to promote his party, a claim he has dismissed.

Under Serbia's constitution, parliament speaker Ana Brnabić will serve as interim president until a successor is elected. Vučić said the first round of the presidential election would be held by the end of December, with the vote required to be completed within 90 days. The prime minister's role carries more formal power than the presidency under Serbian law, but Vučić took a dominant role in government during his time as president. The October election will test the governing party's standing after 14 years in power against its strongest challenge yet from the student-led movement.