Get you up to speed: Serbian populist leader Vucic launches campaign for prime minister
Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic launched his campaign for prime minister at a rally attended by thousands of supporters in Belgrade on October 3, 2026. Vucic aims to extend his political influence through the upcoming parliamentary vote scheduled for October 25.
The parliamentary election is scheduled for October 25, 2026, following Vucic’s resignation as president on September 27, 2026. The outcome will determine if Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) can maintain its political dominance and secure his reappointment as prime minister.
Aleksandar Vucic’s campaign for prime minister has garnered strong backing, with thousands attending a rally in Belgrade, where he pledged a decisive victory in the forthcoming parliamentary election. The youth-led protest movement, which has emerged as a significant political force, plans to contest Vucic’s party in the election, highlighting ongoing demands for accountability regarding the Novi Sad train station tragedy.
What remains unclear — It is not yet known how the opposition coalition led by the Student List plans to counter Vucic’s campaign in the final days before the election.
Vucic launches campaign for prime minister ahead of Serbian elections
News|ElectionsSerbian populist leader Vucic launches campaign for prime minister
Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is seeking to extend his hold on power through a parliamentary vote.
Published On 4 Oct 20264 Oct 2026
Published On 4 Oct 20264 Oct 2026Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has launched his campaign for prime minister ahead of a pivotal election on October 25.
Thousands of supporters of the populist politician packed the largest indoor arena in Belgrade on Saturday, as Vucic pledged a “comprehensive” victory in the upcoming parliamentary vote.
The snap election, which polls suggest could be tight between Vucic’s party and a group of candidates fielded by a student-led protest movement, was called before Vucic resigned as president on September 27, cutting short his second term by more than seven months.
Dozens of buses from across Serbia clogged streets around Belgrade Arena on Saturday, as supporters arrived at the rally in the capital carrying Serbian flags and banners bearing Vucic’s picture.
The event, televised by dozens of channels across Serbia, capped a week of Vucic touring towns and villages in an apparent bid to shore up his popularity, which has been shaken after almost two years of sustained antigovernment protests.
Vucic, on the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) ballot, has dominated Serbian politics as president or prime minister since 2014. Barred from seeking a third presidential term, he is now seeking to extend his hold on power through the parliamentary vote.
If the SNS wins a majority of seats, the parliament is expected to elect Vucic as prime minister.
Youth movement
The youth-backed movement that led the protests has demanded accountability for the November 1, 2024, train station canopy collapse that killed 16 people in the northern city of Novi Sad.
The movement’s quest for justice over the tragedy and against corruption has grown into a nationwide political force whose electoral arm, the Student List, will attempt to oust Vucic’s government.
The Student List includes university professors, teachers, experts and others from across the political spectrum. Vucic accused those behind the movement of seeking to “bring Serbia to a halt” and claimed, without providing evidence, that it is backed by unspecified foreign agents.
On Saturday, Vucic told his supporters: “Absent an intervention of some [foreign intelligence] service, we will defeat them. And they know that.”
Serbia’s former President Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a rally of the governing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) ahead of the parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, on October 3, 2026 [Zorana Jevtic/Reuters]