Protests In Serbia Demanding Resignation Of President
- By Thetripurapost Desk, Belgrade
- Jul 01, 2025
- 647
Protests have once again gained momentum in several cities in Serbia demanding the resignation of President Aleksandar Vucic and immediate elections. From Sunday night to this morning, thousands of protesters blocked roads in the capital Belgrade and other cities.
Protesters blocked roads in several places in Belgrade with metal barricades and garbage containers.
Traffic was also blocked on the bridge over the Sava River. In Novi Sad, protesters threw eggs at the offices of the ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party.
Earlier on Saturday night, about 1 lakh 40 thousand people took to the streets in Belgrade. During the demonstration, there was a clash between the police and the protesters.
The police fired tear gas shells and sound bombs and arrested dozens of people. Now there is a demand for their release.
In Serbia, 16 people died when the shed of Novi Sad railway station collapsed on November 1, 2024.
People's protests against the government started in December, which has been going on for the last 7 months. People allege that the accident happened due to corruption in construction projects.
The then PM-Transport Minister resigned after the accident Due to the accident, the then Prime Minister Milos Vucevic had to resign on January 28, 2025.
Earlier, former Transport Minister Goran Vusic had also resigned. 13 people were accused of corruption in the Novi Sad incident. Goran Vusic's name was also among them.
Former Prime Minister Vucevic had said that he does not want the tension in the country to increase further, so he is resigning from his post to calm the situation. Vucevic was in the post of Prime Minister since May 2024.
Earlier, he has held the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister.
Vucevic was the mayor of Novi Sad from 2012 to 2020. During this time, building work was done at the railway station. Due to this, there was a lot of pressure on Vucevic to resign from the post of PM. However, the real power in Serbia lies with the President.
President Vucic's second term will end in 2027 Alexander Vucic has been the President of Serbia since 2017. His second term is ending in 2027. Parliamentary elections are also to be held then. However, the protesters are adamant on the demand to hold elections as soon as possible. The President is constantly refusing to hold elections.
Vucic was deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2014 and prime minister from 2014 to 2017 before becoming president. His populist Serbian Progressive Party-led coalition has 156 of the 250 parliamentary seats. Critics say corruption and crime have risen during his tenure.
For the last 8 months, people have been stopping the movement of vehicles for 15 minutes every day. Students are largely involved in the protests in Serbia. They stop the movement of trains for 15 minutes every day at 11:52 in the afternoon across the country.
This was the same time when the incident of the balcony falling at the railway station took place. After the incident, students have also stopped studying in the universities of the country.
The protests intensified on January 24. People stopped going to work. Tensions escalated when a girl was injured in a clash between opposition and ruling party supporters during a 24-hour blockade of the busiest road in Serbia's capital, Belgrade.