Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic Returns to Novi Sad for Pre-Election Rally After Deadly Train Station Disaster
Vucic told supporters the student-led protests were backed from abroad as he sought to rally his party before the election.
- On Friday, Serbian Progressive Party leader Aleksandar Vucic staged a pre-election rally in Novi Sad, the city where 16 people died in a train station tragedy nearly two years ago.
- The tragedy sparked mass anti-government protests, as Serbian youth demanded accountability for the collapse they believed resulted from corruption-fueled negligence during renovation work.
- Thousands of supporters attended the gathering, where some waved flags depicting former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, who was convicted of genocide by a U.N. war crimes court.
- Without providing evidence, Vucic claimed student-led protests were financed by foreign powers, while Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attended as a special guest to praise the Serbian leader.
- Facing a major test in the Oct 25 election, Vucic seeks to return as prime minister, though Serbia's European Union membership bid stalls amid his ties with Russia and China.
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Aleksandar Vucic appeared with a sprig of rosemary at an election rally in Novi Sad ahead of the parliamentary elections in Serbia.
Thousands of government supporters gathered in Novi Sad on Friday with just a week left before the Serbian election – seen as a crossroads for relations with the EU, Russia and China. Serbia's strongman Aleksandar Vučić is fighting the fight of his life.
NEXT TO FLAGS with the figure of Ratko Mladić, Vučić promised justice for the victims of the tragedy at the station in Novi Sad and called the citizens to the upcoming elections.
Serbian populist leader Aleksandar Vucic returns to tragedy-hit Novi S
Supporters wave a flag shows Serbia's populist leader Aleksandar Vucic during a pre-election rally of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) ahead of early parliamentary elections in Novi Sad, Serbia, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Associated Press News
Serbian populist leader Aleksandar Vucic returns to tragedy-hit Novi Sad for preelection rally
Serbia’s populist leader Aleksandar Vucic has returned to Novi Sad, the northern city where 16 people died in a train station tragedy almost two years ago that set off a wave of anti-government protests.
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