Vucic Resigns

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić resigned Sunday, opening the door to early elections after nearly two years of protests over government corruption.

Vučić read his resignation from the presidential palace in Belgrade, DW reported. "I am resigning as president," he told supporters. He said he would hand his duties to parliament's speaker the next morning, according to DW.

The unrest traces back to November 2024. That's when the canopy of a train station in Novi Sad collapsed and killed 16 people, the BBC and the Guardian reported. University students demanded accountability. The protests grew to include teachers, workers and farmers, according to the BBC. A series of resignations by officials under Vučić failed to calm demonstrators, who kept protesting through the summer, the BBC reported. Accusations of police brutality followed.

Vučić told the BBC his nine-year tenure as president had preserved peace and stability in Serbia. His Progressive Party has denied wrongdoing and has repeatedly pledged to fight corruption, according to the Guardian. Critics, including Serbia's independent Bureau for Social Research, have accused Vučić and his party of corruption, organized crime links and a clampdown on independent media, the Guardian reported. The bureau has also filed a complaint alleging Vučić used his office to promote his party, a claim he has dismissed, the Guardian said. Serbia's bid to join the European Union has stalled over concerns about democratic backsliding, the Guardian reported.

Oct. 25 is the date set for a snap parliamentary election, the BBC and the Guardian reported. Vučić plans to lead his Progressive Party's ticket for prime minister, since the constitution bars him from a third presidential term. His party will face Students Win, a student-led movement, and European Serbia, a coalition of pro-Western opposition parties, according to the BBC. A presidential vote will follow more than a month later, the BBC reported. Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić, a Progressive Party member, will serve as interim president until then, both outlets reported.

Before leaving office, Vučić pardoned 49 people, including 23 students, for offenses tied to what he called "the terrible events" of the past year and a half, Serbia's state broadcaster RTS reported, according to the BBC.