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Serbia to hold snap elections on Oct 18 or 25, President Vucic says
Vucic said the vote follows 18 months of anti-government protests sparked by a railway station awning collapse that killed 16 people.
On Thursday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced snap parliamentary elections for October 18 or 25, marking the first time he provided specific dates for the vote.
These elections follow 18 months of anti-government protests, including anti-corruption demonstrations led by students triggered by a deadly railway station awning collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024 that killed 16 people.
Describing the electoral structure, Vucic said, "On one list there will be the Serbian Progressive Party with its list, on the other all other political options," despite elections originally being scheduled for December 2027.
Opposition figures accuse Vucic and his allies of rampant corruption, media stifling, and violence against opponents; the ruling party denies these allegations, while analysts suggest Vucic may seek the prime minister role if the SNS wins.
To join the European Union, Serbia must align its foreign policy with the bloc and reform its rule of law, while Vucic continues to navigate ties with Russia and China alongside EU integration.
Serbia has been agitated since November 2024 by a large protest movement born of deadly collapse in a railway station, seen by the demonstrators as the result of the corruption that gangrene the country.