Serbia to hold parliamentary vote on October 25, president says 09-Sep 03:18

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday he would set October 25 as the date for ​a snap vote, as he looks to tighten ‌his grip on Serbian politics after nearly two years of student-led protests and be elected prime minister.

The government on Monday ​asked Vucic to dissolve the parliament and schedule a ​snap vote.

"The elections will be held on October ⁠25," Vucic said in a state RTS central news ​programme, adding that he would officially announce the decision at ​noon on Wednesday.

This would allow Vucic, whose Serbian Progressive Party nominated him on Saturday to run for prime minister, to try ​to reassert his authority after the protests presented the ​biggest challenge to his rule.

The next parliamentary elections in Serbia were ‌not ⁠due until December 2027. But following nearly two years of student-led protests, Vucic had said he would seek a snap vote.

Vucic, who has run the country as ​president or prime ​minister for ⁠12 years, has faced anti-corruption demonstrations triggered by the collapse of a concrete canopy ​at a railway station in the northern ​city of ⁠Novi Sad in November 2024 that killed 16 people.

The opposition and demonstrators accuse Vucic and his allies of violence ⁠against ​political opponents, rampant corruption, ties ​with organised crime and stifling media freedoms, all of which Vucic and ​his allies deny.