Overview
- President Aleksandar Vucic said Saturday he will resign within weeks and announced plans for early presidential and parliamentary elections.
- He did not give a firm date for his resignation or say when he would dissolve parliament, which must happen for a snap parliamentary vote to take place.
- Vucic told supporters he will back the ruling Serbian Progressive Party in the vote and cannot run again for president under Serbia's election law.
- Student-led anti-corruption protests that began after the November 2024 Novi Sad canopy collapse that killed 16 people have driven the push for early elections and plan to challenge the SNS at the polls.
- European Union officials and rights groups have raised alarms about media restrictions and heavy-handed policing that included hundreds of detentions, which critics say could affect the fairness of any upcoming vote.