Continuation of student protests in Serbia; the president promised to resign

🔸Serbia’s president, following nearly two years of widespread student protests and anti-corruption demonstrations, announced that within less than two weeks, eight months before the end of his term, he will resign.

🔸Aleksandar Vučić, who has been at the helm of power in Serbia for the past 12 years as prime minister or president, intends to compete for the position of prime minister after stepping down in the early parliamentary election on October 25.

🔸The election will be held while student protests, which began in November 2024, are still ongoing and have become the biggest political challenge of Vučić’s time in government.

🔸On the evening of Monday, 23 Shahrivar, thousands of people gathered in Belgrade in support of the movement “Students Win.” The movement submitted its list of candidates for the parliamentary election on the same day and officially entered the electoral race.

🔸The protests began after the collapse of the canopy at the city’s railway station in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, and the deaths of 16 people. Protesters took the incident as a symbol of corruption and the inefficiency of state institutions and demanded accountability from officials.

🔸In the months that followed, the protests spread to different cities, with students becoming the main force behind them. Protesters and opposition parties accuse Vučić and his allies of corruption, carrying out violence against opponents, and restricting media freedom—charges that Serbia’s president and the ruling party have denied.

🔸Last week, Vučić dissolved parliament and announced the October 25 election more than one year ahead of the scheduled date. The Serbian Progressive Party has also put him forward as its candidate for prime minister.

🔸Read the full version of this report on the Radio Farda website.