Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić resigns ahead of snap parliamentary election

Vučić formally signed his resignation during a public address, saying he could have participated in the parliamentary election while remaining president but believed stepping down was “fair.”

Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić will serve as acting president. Vučić said Serbia must hold a presidential election by the end of December.

Vučić said he wanted to participate in the upcoming parliamentary election “as an ordinary citizen.” He did not specify in his address what position he intends to seek after the vote.

Speaking about Serbia's foreign policy, Vučić said almost every meeting he had attended in Europe over the past four and a half years had been “torture” because he was repeatedly asked why Serbia had not imposed sanctions on Russia.

He said relations with Moscow had also been difficult, citing competing interests surrounding the Russian-owned Serbian oil company NIS.

The snap election comes after nearly two years of political turmoil triggered by the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, which killed 16 people.

The disaster sparked mass protests, with demonstrators accusing the government of corruption and demanding political accountability. Serbia's then-Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned amid the protests in January 2025.

Vučić dissolved parliament earlier this month and called the snap parliamentary election for Oct. 25.