Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced that the country will hold early parliamentary elections. The decision comes amid long-running protests that began after a canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad train station a year ago. Vučić stated this during a speech at the construction site of the National Stadium, reports Srbija Danas.
He noted that the exact date of the elections will be determined by the competent authorities of Serbia in accordance with the Constitution and the current legislation:
“But, respecting the demands of the blockers for early elections, we will satisfy them, and the elections will be held by the established deadline. When? This will be decided by the competent institution. And the people will show at the elections what policies they support”.
The country has been discussing the possibility of new elections for several weeks, and the most likely date is the end of 2026.
As a reminder, on November 4, 2024, a concrete canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad, the second most populous city in Serbia, and fell on people sitting on benches near the station. The same day, Serbia’s infrastructure minister resigned over the tragedy, stressing that “neither he nor the people working with him bear any responsibility for the tragedy that occurred.”
After the incident, on November 5, thousands of citizens took to the streets, accusing the authorities of corruption and demanding the resignation of Novi Sad Mayor Milan Đurić, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, and President Aleksandar Vučić.
Anti-government protests continued in the country for several months. On January 10, 2025, thousands of students blocked a key highway intersection. On January 17, tens of thousands of people in Belgrade stood in silence for 15 minutes in front of the RTS state television building to honor the victims of the tragedy.
On January 27, students staged a 24-hour blockade of a main highway in Belgrade, and on February 2, tens of thousands of protesters blocked three bridges over the Danube in Novi Sad. On February 9, students and activists blocked a bridge in Belgrade and roads across the country, marking 100 days since the collapse of the concrete canopy.
On June 29, after a student rally in central Belgrade, massive clashes broke out between protesters and police. On July 4, residents of several Serbian cities erected barricades and blocked roads.
On July 22, a court in Serbia awarded compensation to the family of a man who died in a train accident at the Novi Sad train station, the first court ruling in the tragedy.
On August 1, former Serbian Trade Minister Tomislav Momirović and ten other people suspected of involvement in the train accident were arrested.
