University students and people protest in front of the government building, six months after the deadly train station tragedy that sparked mass demonstrations against corruption, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A woman holds a poster that shows Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during a farewell ceremony for Serbia’s protesting students, embarking on 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) run to Brussels aimed to draw European Union attention to their months-long struggle against corruption and for the rule of law in Novi Sad, Serbia, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
University students and people protest in front of the government building, six months after the deadly train station tragedy that sparked mass demonstrations against corruption, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia’s protesting students demand a snap election
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) 鈥 Serbia’s protesting university students are demanding a snap election after months of anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken populist President Aleksandar Vucic’s tight grip on power in the Balkan country.
University students and people protest in front of the government building, six months after the deadly train station tragedy that sparked mass demonstrations against corruption, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) 鈥 Serbia’s protesting university students are demanding a snap election after months of anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken populist President Aleksandar Vucic’s tight grip on power in the Balkan country.
A statement posted to a joint social media account late Monday said that an early vote is the only way out of a deep political crisis in Serbia triggered by a on Nov. 1, which was widely blamed on government corruption.
The station building in the northern city of Novi Sad had been renovated twice before its concrete canopy crashed on the people below. Critics said caused the huge construction to collapse.
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The disaster sparked months of protests , which have garnered huge support among Serbia’s citizens drawing hundreds of thousands of people.
鈥淕overnment corruption is so deeply rooted in state institutions that they are unable perform their duties independently,鈥 the protesting students said. 鈥淲e believe that democracy is the only right way to solve a political crisis of such proportions.鈥
A snap election would entail dissolving of the and scheduling the early vote. The ruling Serbian Progressive Party leader and former Prime Minister Milos Vucevic has rejected the idea, saying it would spell a 鈥渄isaster鈥 for the country.
Vucic, a right-wing populist whom critics accuse of stifling democratic freedoms, has alleged the student protesters were under orders from the West. Vucic is formally saying he wants Serbia to join the while boosting ties with Russia and China.
Serbia鈥檚 protesting students post statements and protest announcements on the joint social media account Students in Blockade. They have no leaders or spokespersons and make decisions at faculty plenary sessions.
