Thousands of protesters filled the streets of Kraljevo in central Serbia on Sunday, refusing to ease pressure on President Aleksandar Vucic even after he pledged to resign and clear the path for early elections.
At a rally in Belgrade on Saturday, Vucic said he would step down within weeks — a move that, at least formally, would end the dominance of a man who has led Serbia as either president or prime minister for the past 12 years.
But among the thousands gathered in Kraljevo on Sunday, there was little sense of relief. Under Serbian law, Vucic cannot run for another presidential term. Many protesters and analysts expect him to shift to a more powerful role as prime minister and hand the presidency to a loyal ally, retaining effective control.
Showing no sign of retreat at the Belgrade rally, Vucic struck a defiant tone, predicting his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party — which has run the country for 14 years — would "win more convincingly than ever" in the next election. He did not set a specific date for his resignation or the vote, leaving the opposition uncertain about what happens next.
At the heart of public anger is the late-2024 disaster when the roof of a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. Protesters blame the tragedy on corruption and shoddy construction of big state projects, making it a symbol of what they see as a rotten and unaccountable government.
Vucic denies any corruption and has repeatedly labeled protesters "foreign agents" seeking to topple him. The protest campaign has grown into the largest wave of demonstrations since Serbians ousted authoritarian leader Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. Police have arrested hundreds during months of unrest, drawing accusations from the European Union that officers acted with brutality and detained demonstrators without proper cause.
