Students and citizens in Novi Sad announced a protest on January 17, set to take place at Trg Slobode (Freedom Square) in the afternoon, where students will present the core ideas of their proposed election program.
According to Danas, the full program of the event will be published on Wednesday. Several student speakers are expected on stage to explain their proposals and outline how they plan to act moving forward.
One clear demand is the call for early parliamentary elections, reflecting the students’ continued push for political accountability. The program is expected to last one to two hours.
The protest is also inspired by the massive public support students have garnered. In December 2025, the students collected 400,000 signatures in a single day as part of the “Raspiši pobedu” (“Call for Victory”) campaign.
Students emphasized their focus on institutional reform and combating corruption. “Institutions in Serbia are poisoned by partisan influence. Public officials use their positions to break the law for personal gain. Human lives are neglected to keep institutions under party control. Politicians and businessmen enrich themselves, while most citizens live paycheck to paycheck,” they said.
They added, “The first step toward healing society is cleansing institutions of the poison of corruption. The January 17 gathering is not about counting numbers, but about directly communicating our intentions and next steps. Solutions exist, and institutions are not permanently captive. This country needs people who serve the citizens, not personal interests.”
In social media announcements, students also raised concerns about human rights violations and media ethics, highlighting instances of disinformation, privacy violations, stigmatization, and public shaming, which they say contravene professional journalism standards and potentially legal norms.
