Protests are being held in more than 30 cities across Serbia, led by students staging blockades and demanding the announcement of early parliamentary elections.
The call for collective action comes exactly seven months after the collapse of a shelter at the railway station in Novi Sad, where 16 people lost their lives and another was seriously injured.
Protests in all Serbian cities are expected to last three hours, followed by a 16-minute tribute to the victims.
Bridge Blockades in Belgrade
In Belgrade, around 6:00 p.m., protesters blocked two of the city’s busiest bridges – the Gazela Bridge and the Branko’s Bridge.
Demonstrators on the bridges chanted slogans such as: “We want justice, we want the truth, we want elections.”
Aleksandar Jeremić, a citizen from Belgrade, joined the protest with his friends. He said he hopes the students’ call for early elections will be fulfilled.
“This is an idea I support too, but the students have the energy. They’re leading this, and we’re here to support them. This protest is just one step in the process,” he told Radio Free Europe.
Calls for Elections Also in Novi Sad
In Novi Sad, students and citizens blocked a key traffic junction in the city center.
A law student addressed the crowd, emphasizing that a democratic society requires oversight of power and accountability.
“It’s time to remind them that we’re watching and that we want snap elections. It’s time to organize and make it clear that we won’t tolerate electoral irregularities and that the Constitution must be respected,” he said.
The protest in Novi Sad was also supported by citizens united in local assemblies. A representative of theirs also called for elections.
“We’re saying this from Novi Sad, but other cities are protesting at the same time. There’s no more time to wait – the only step left is to call elections,” she said.
Mass Student Protest in Požarevac
In Požarevac, the protest began earlier in the day and is expected to last for 13 hours. Students and youth from other cities are participating – runners from Čačak arrived with a baton, while others from Belgrade and Jagodina traveled on foot.
Citizens welcomed them with a reception ceremony the previous day.
Organizers plan to have the same speeches read in every city.
Serbian Government’s Reaction and Public Support
The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, from the ruling party, reacted by calling the bridge blockades in Belgrade “pointless and aimless citizen disturbance.” In a social media post, she described the protest as “violence for the sake of violence, with a life philosophy of arrogance and insensitivity.”
Serbian students, who have been blocking public universities and organizing protests across Serbia for over six months, enjoy the support of hundreds of thousands of citizens – including local groups, farmers, lawyers, actors, and others.
In early May, the students demanded the announcement of snap parliamentary elections, arguing that “deep-rooted corruption” prevents institutions from acting freely and responding to their demands.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated on May 16 that elections will be held within a year and a half, once the relevant institutions make a decision.
For the students, the main demand remains the establishment of legal and political accountability for the deaths at the Novi Sad railway station.
Authorities have repeatedly stated that the students’ demands have been met, but the students have rejected these claims and vowed to continue their protests and blockades.
