Concession or calculation? Vučić calls early 2026 vote

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on 28 December that he would accept one of the core demands of the ongoing anti-government protests by calling early parliamentary elections in 2026.

Speaking outside the National Assembly building in Belgrade, Vučić declared that the vote would take place next year, while expressing strong confidence in his ruling Serbian Progressive Party’s victory. “We will win everywhere in Serbia,” he stated, adding that the elections would serve as a political response to the protesters, though he suggested they would not be pleased with the outcome.

Vučić framed the decision as a concession to the demonstrators’ main request, emphasizing that power, love, and determination would overcome what he described as hatred from the opposition. He highlighted the government’s achievements, predicting that 2026 would be one of Serbia’s strongest years in history, marked by extensive construction of roads and railway lines. He also contrasted the peaceful nature of the Serbian protests – no fatalities occurred, with violent demonstrations elsewhere, such as the “yellow vests” movement in France.

The president described the past year as his most challenging, citing intense confrontations that included attacks on Serbian Progressive Party premises and alleged assaults on supporters. Vučić accused protesters of being part of a broader effort to destabilize the country, while praising his supporters and veterans for defending Serbia. He expressed gratitude to the Serbian people for providing him with the strength to persevere amid what he called a barrage of lies directed at him and the government.

The announcement comes amid more than a year of sustained, student-led protests that have posed the most significant challenge to Vučić’s 13-year dominance. The movement erupted in November 2024 following a tragic incident in the northern city of Novi Sad, where the collapse of a newly renovated concrete canopy at the railway station killed 16 people. The disaster was widely attributed to corruption, negligence in construction standards, and disregard for safety regulations during the renovation. Despite multiple investigations, no one has yet been held accountable, fueling widespread public anger.

Students have remained at the forefront of the protests, shifting in recent months from large-scale street demonstrations and university blockades to targeted actions designed to demonstrate broad public support. On Sunday, 28 December, they organized a nationwide signature collection drive, setting up hundreds of stands in over 100 cities, towns, and villages across Serbia. Despite freezing temperatures, citizens lined up to sign forms expressing support for snap parliamentary elections—intended not as a formal petition but as a symbolic measure of public sentiment and additional pressure on the government.

Organisers reported strong participation, with students estimating that nine out of ten people they canvassed in recent weeks backed the call for early elections. In Belgrade and other locations, participants placed signed forms in transparent boxes, and the initiative received backing from public figures, including university rectors and ordinary citizens. Many expressed deep frustration with the current political climate, citing poverty, lack of democracy, and a desire for a better future for their families. One mother in Belgrade voiced her fear that without change, she would have to send her son abroad, while others reflected on the long struggle for genuine democratic progress since the fall of Slobodan Milošević more than two decades earlier.

Although Vučić has now committed to holding elections in 2026 – earlier than the originally scheduled 2027 parliamentary and presidential votes, he has previously resisted immediate snap elections and accused the opposition of seeking a Western-backed “color revolution” to overthrow his administration. He has denied charges of suppressing democratic freedoms, fostering corruption, or allowing organized crime to thrive, while maintaining Serbia’s formal EU accession path alongside close ties to Russia and China.

The opposition to Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) remains profoundly fragmented, split between pro-European political groups, nationalist factions, and the burgeoning student-led movement that has driven nationwide anti-corruption protests since late 2024. This deep division – exacerbated by mutual distrust between established opposition parties and the decentralized, non-partisan student protesters, severely hinders the emergence of a unified front capable of challenging Vučić effectively.

Vučić has dominated Serbian politics for over a decade. He served as defense minister (2012–2013), prime minister (2014–2017), and has been president since 2017 (re-elected in 2022). Over this period, he has consolidated near-total control over key institutions, the media landscape, and the state apparatus, creating an environment widely criticized as authoritarian, with limited independent oversight and restricted press freedom.

Stabilocracy minus stability

In earlier years, Vučić’s rule in Serbia was often characterized as a “stabilocracy”—a system that provided superficial stability despite democratic backsliding. However, since the tragic collapse of the Novi Sad railway station roof in November 2024, his regime has increasingly appeared to lack stability.

Nevertheless, despite mounting setbacks and erosion of public trust, Vučić retains substantial resources – both financial and political – to secure electoral victories, particularly in the absence of a strong, unified opposition.

In this context, the prospect of early parliamentary elections – a core demand of the ongoing student protests, appears less as a genuine concession to public pressure and more as a calculated strategic move by Vučić. As Serbia heads into what promises to be a pivotal election year, both the government and the student-led opposition appear poised for a fierce political battle.

Sources: BETA, BGNES, Danas, B92, Balkan Insight

Students rally in Novi Pazar against university crackdown amid nationwide protests

Caption: Students collect signatures for the ‘Call for Victory’ campaign in Belgrade, Serbia, 28 December 2025. Students across Serbia are organizing nationwide protests to collect signatures demanding early parliamentary elections. The demonstrations are part of a wave of civil unrest that began following the fatal canopy collapse at the Novi Sad railway station in late 2024, with students now calling for accountability and social justice. EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC