Tens of thousands of people protested in the Serbian capital against the government, seeking to maintain pressure on President Aleksandar Vučić even after he supported holding early elections in the fall, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.
Details
Under the slogan "Students Win," crowds gathered on Saturday in response to a call from an informal university student organization that has led large-scale anti-government rallies for over a year, which are also supported by major opposition parties. Police reported that the number of participants exceeded 34,000.
Elections are expected to take place between late September and mid-November, Vučić stated this week. The elections for the country's 250-seat parliament will be Serbia's fifth in a decade and the fourth to be held early.
Vučić announces snap elections in Serbia in response to protests22.05.26, 09:39
Serbia has been hit by student protests that began after the collapse of a railway station roof in 2024, which killed 16 people. Opposition parties and student activists accuse the government of corruption and incompetence. Vučić's party has dominated elections since 2012.
His supporters responded with a campaign under the slogan "Serbia Wins," condemning anti-government activists for activities allegedly funded from abroad aimed at disrupting government policy, which balances Serbia's aspirations to join the European Union with close ties to China, the US, and Russia, the publication notes.
While the anti-Vučić rally ended peacefully, some participants later went to a rival rally organized by the president's supporters in a nearby area, where they clashed with police securing the event, the publication writes. There have been no reports of arrests or injuries so far.