Vucic Resigns From Presidency to Seek Premiership in Serbia's October 25 Election

Aleksandar Vucic, who has been the central figure in Serbian politics for fourteen years, is competing in parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25 against an opposition movement organized by university students.

Vucic resigned as president in late September rather than seek a third term. He is now running for prime minister, a job he held from 2014 to 2017. Polling indicates the race is evenly divided between his ruling party coalition and the student movement.

An investigation by RFE/RL's Balkan Service found that about 500,000 people registered to vote do not have a complete address on file. Many of these records omit street names or house numbers. The review also identified hundreds of voters listed at public facilities like social welfare centers, along with residential addresses that cannot physically accommodate the number of people registered there.

These gaps arrive alongside other concerns about how the vote will be run. An interim report from the OSCE, which has deployed 300 observers to Serbia, contradicted the Serbian government's claim that it had implemented all of the mission's recommendations from the 2023 election. International observers reported irregularities in 2023, including the transportation of voters from neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina and instances of voter intimidation.

The campaign is taking place two days before the second anniversary of a disaster in Novi Sad. On November 1, 2024, a renovated canopy at the city's railway station collapsed and killed sixteen people. The project was led by Chinese businesses. The government denied wrongdoing, but the collapse set off protests nationwide. Police used force and made arrests during the demonstrations. On March 15, 2025, authorities allegedly used an unlawful sonic weapon against peaceful demonstrators. Vucic announced his resignation and the call for early elections after another student protest in June.

The student opposition has no formal leaders. Its candidate list is made up largely of nonpartisan figures, including university professors, and is headed by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic. The movement has said his position on the list does not guarantee he would become prime minister. Vladimir Bilcik, a former European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia, described the vote as the first in over a decade with a genuinely uncertain outcome.

Surveillance allegations have also entered the campaign. A statement from the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee dated October 21 cited reports of illegal monitoring of opposition members and efforts to undermine election observation missions. Research by the Serbian nonprofit SHARE and University of Toronto researchers found at least sixteen cases in which the Pegasus surveillance software was used in 2026, a program that is illegal in Serbia. The opposition blames authorities for the spying, while government officials deny targeting political rivals.

On foreign policy, Vucic has pledged to keep Serbia's current course, including refusing to follow EU calls for sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The student movement has centered on fighting corruption but also opposes sanctions and supports Belgrade's position of not recognizing Kosovo's independence. Serbia has not opened a new EU accession chapter since late 2021. Some US lawmakers have warned that Moscow may play an active role in the election, and the European Parliament has raised concerns about Russian influence operations. Republican Congressman Joe Wilson said Russia is deploying resources to monitor and disrupt Serbian citizens and the student movement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed support for Vucic.

Voter records in Bosnia and Kosovo also showed increases in eligible voters ahead of the vote. These regions are considered key sources of support for Vucic's Progressive Party among ethnic Serbs. Four employees of Serbia-funded institutions in Kosovo told RFE/RL they faced pressure to vote for the ruling party.