Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic says will resign within ‘weeks’

Vucic is nether ⁠pressure aft months ⁠of antigovernment protests.

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic says helium volition measurement down wrong “weeks”.

Vucic announced his program to resign connected Saturday, paving the mode for aboriginal statesmanlike and parliamentary ‌elections.

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This follows months of youth-led protests that shook his word arsenic president.

“I volition beryllium president for lone a mates of weeks, ⁠and past I volition ⁠resign,” Vucic told his supporters ⁠at a pro-government rally ⁠in ⁠the capital, Belgrade.

“We volition triumph much convincingly than ever before,” helium said, telling the assemblage helium volition assistance his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party astatine the upcoming elections and that this was astir apt the past clip helium would code them arsenic Serbia’s president.

Vucic did not specify precisely erstwhile helium would resign oregon erstwhile an predetermination – for Parliament oregon for a caller president – would beryllium held.

The president’s 2nd and ‌last mandate was acceptable to expire successful mid-2027.

Vucic has gradually tightened his grip connected powerfulness since his populist enactment took implicit the Serbian authorities 14 years ago.

The quality of his resignation comes against the backdrop of months of student-led wide antigovernment protests that person rattled the country.

Tens of thousands of radical person been rallying crossed Serbia since November 2024, erstwhile the Novi Sad obstruction presumption catastrophe killed 16 radical and sparked wide choler astatine the government.

Hundreds of radical were detained and Serbia’s constabulary were accused of excessive unit and arbitrary arrests by the European Union. The protests yet led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic successful January 2025.

Vucic, who has dominated Serbian authorities for implicit a decade, has repeatedly called protesters “foreign agents”, accusing them of “fuelling divisions” and seeking to overthrow the government.

In effect to Vucic’s rally, students are acceptable to clasp their ain gathering connected Sunday successful Kraljevo, cardinal Serbia, besides promoting nationalist unity portion renewing calls for aboriginal elections.