Ivica Dačić gains traction as candidate for Serbian presidency

Several local boards of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) have unanimously proposed party leader Ivica Dačić, who is the current Interior Minister, as the party’s candidate for president of Serbia, according to statements published on 19 August 2026.

The City Board of SPS Valjevo announced on Instagram that it had taken a unanimous decision at a session held on 15 August to back Dačić for the presidency. Similar unanimous decisions were reported by boards in Kragujevac, Pirot, Žitište, Grocka, Barajevo and other localities. Many of the posts featured a photograph of Dačić accompanied by the slogan “We are not traitors – we are with Ivica.”

SPS leader Ivica Dačić had earlier stated that the party would contest the upcoming elections independently. This position was endorsed by the party’s Main Board at a session in July. He noted that the Socialists have long run in coalition with their traditional partners, United Serbia and Green Serbia, and that this arrangement remains unchanged. After the elections, however, Dačić said the SPS wants talks with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of Aleksandar Vučić about continuing the coalition – “not with the blockaders.”

“Blockaders” is the derogatory label that the government and pro-regime media use for the student-led protest movement and the broader opposition. These protests began in late 2024 after the deadly collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy and evolved into widespread blockades of universities, streets and public spaces, demanding accountability for corruption and early elections.

Within the party it was agreed that municipal, city and district boards should submit lists of candidates for members of parliament and a presidential candidate by 25 August at the latest. Dačić indicated that presidential elections could be expected in late December or January.

Vučić’s SNS and Dačić’s SPS have long operated as two sides of the same coin — distinct party labels that, in practice, form a single, mutually reinforcing power structure in which the Progressive Party provides the dominant leadership and the Socialists act as its reliable junior partner.

President Aleksandar Vučić had previously indicated that parliamentary elections would take place in October or November, with presidential elections – following his announced resignation – expected between late December and early February.

Broader political context

Serbia is heading toward early elections after Vučić announced in late June 2026 that he would resign as president within weeks. His second and final presidential term was due to expire in mid-2027. The resignation is widely viewed as a calculated move that would allow him to return to the more powerful post of prime minister, a role he previously held from 2014 to 2017. SNS officials have publicly encouraged him to seek the premiership, and Vučić himself has left the door open to the idea depending on public support and party wishes.

While the precise dates have not yet been formally set, the overall strategy is now clear: parliamentary elections are expected first, followed by a presidential vote, with Vučić positioning himself to retain dominant influence through the prime minister’s office.

Portrait of a long-time number two

Ivica Dačić, the current interior minister and SPS president since 2006, has long occupied the role of a reliable junior partner in Serbian politics. He rose as the spokesman of Slobodan Milošević’s SPS in the 1990s (earning the nickname “Little Sloba”), later led the party’s rehabilitation, and has served as a consistent coalition partner to Vučić’s SNS since 2012.

Dačić has held nearly every senior post: prime minister (2012–2014), multiple terms as interior and foreign minister, National Assembly speaker, and deputy prime minister. Throughout, he has functioned as the adaptable, pragmatic number-two figure who prioritises continuity of power and post-election deals over ideological confrontation. His latest positioning as the Socialists’ presidential candidate fits this pattern of calculated loyalty and survival in the shadow of Serbia’s dominant political force.

The article in Serbian by EUalive’s partner BETA can be found here.

Caption:Aleksandar Vučić, currently President of Serbia, and Ivica Dačić, currently Minister of Interior of Sebia [rks.news]