Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced that snap parliamentary elections will be held on October 25 as he seeks to strengthen his political authority and secure a return to the premiership following nearly two years of student-led protests, Reuters reported.
The Serbian government formally asked Vučić on Monday to dissolve parliament and call early elections. The president said the official announcement of the election date would be made at noon on Wednesday in a statement carried by Serbia’s public broadcaster.
The early vote will give Vučić, who was nominated by his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on Saturday as its candidate for prime minister, an opportunity to seek a renewed mandate amid what Reuters described as the biggest political challenge he has faced since coming to power.
Parliamentary elections were originally scheduled for December 2027. Vučić, however, has repeatedly signaled since earlier this year that early elections could be held.
The snap election comes after months of mass protests sparked by the November 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people. The demonstrations, initially focused on accountability and corruption, have grown into a broader challenge to Vučić’s political dominance.
Vučić has been in power for 12 years, serving either as president or head of government. His decision to seek the premiership again would further consolidate his influence over Serbia’s executive and political institutions.
Opposition parties and protesters accuse Vučić and his allies of violence against political opponents, widespread corruption, links to organized crime and restrictions on press freedom. Vučić and his associates deny the allegations.
The student-led protest movement has emerged as a sustained source of political pressure on the government, with demonstrators demanding accountability over the Novi Sad tragedy and broader institutional reforms.
The October election is therefore expected to become a major test of Vučić’s political strength and of the opposition and protest movement’s ability to translate nearly two years of street mobilization into electoral support.
