Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic says will resign within ‘weeks’

Vucic is under ⁠pressure after months ⁠of antigovernment protests.Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic says he will step down within “weeks”.Vucic announced his plan to resign on Saturday, paving the way for early presidential and parliamentary ‌elections.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic sees the worldlist 2 of 3Photos: Clashes in Belgrade as student-led protests challenge Vuciclist 3 of 3Tens of thousands rally in Serbia for antigovernment demonstrationsend of listThis follows months of youth-led protests that shook his term as president.“I will be president for only a couple of weeks, ⁠and then I will ⁠resign,” Vucic told his supporters ⁠at a pro-government rally ⁠in ⁠the capital, Belgrade.“We will win more convincingly than ever before,” he said, telling the crowd he will help his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party at the upcoming elections and that this was probably the last time he would address them as Serbia’s president.Vucic did not specify exactly when he would resign or when an election – for Parliament or for a new president – would be held.The president’s second and ‌last mandate was set to expire in mid-2027.Vucic has gradually tightened his grip on power since his populist party took over the Serbian government 14 years ago.The news of his resignation comes against the backdrop of months of student-led mass antigovernment protests that have rattled the country.Tens of thousands of people have been rallying across Serbia since November 2024, when the Novi Sad rail station disaster killed 16 people and sparked mass anger at the government.Hundreds of people were detained and Serbia’s police were accused of excessive force and arbitrary arrests by the European Union. The protests eventually led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic in January 2025.