Serbia's Vučić resigns as president to run for prime minister in October snap vote

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić resigned Sunday, ending his second and final five-year presidential term early so he can lead his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) into the Oct. 25 snap parliamentary election as its candidate for prime minister, Reuters, AP, and AFP reported.

Who takes over: Vučić formally handed his duties to Brnabić on Monday morning, passing her the presidential seal, pardon documents and other official records, N1 and B92 reported. Under Serbian law, outgoing parliament speaker Ana Brnabić — a close Vučić ally and former prime minister — serves as acting president for up to three months while a presidential election is organized, AP and Reuters reported. Vučić said the first round of that presidential vote would come by the end of December. Once a new parliament is seated, a new speaker takes over from Brnabić, appoints the prime minister, and schedules the presidential ballot, per AP.

Why he stepped down now: Vučić called the Oct. 25 parliamentary vote earlier this month, citing "major turbulence on the domestic political scene," AFP reported. The snap election was a core demand of a student-led protest movement that began after a November 2024 canopy collapse at the Novi Sad railway station killed 16 people and grew into a broader anti-corruption challenge to SNS rule, AP and AFP reported. Vučić has been either prime minister or president for the past 12 years; SNS has held power since 2012.

Campaign and pardons: Vučić now heads the SNS electoral list and is its prime-minister candidate. Minutes before resigning, he used presidential powers to pardon 49 people, including 23 tied to cases from the protest period — among them students and party loyalists — AFP reported. He told supporters he wanted to "compete as an ordinary man, as one of the people." The ballot pits SNS and allies against Students Win, a student-backed anti-corruption list, and European Serbia, a pro-Western opposition alliance, Reuters said; analysts cited by AP describe a tight, referendum-like contest.

Uncertainty: Wire accounts agree that Vučić announced and read a resignation on Sunday and Brnabić took over as acting president at Monday's handover, but the precise minute of formal filing with the National Assembly and the final presidential election calendar may still be set by subsequent official notices. Pre-election polling cited in secondary coverage should be treated as snapshots, not forecasts.

Resignation speech, Oct. 25 parliamentary date, Brnabić interim role, 90-day presidential-election clock, and December first-round remark follow Reuters (Aleksandar Vasovic), Sep 27, 2026. Constitutional third-term ban, SNS candidacy, Novi Sad 2024 canopy collapse (16 dead), student-led protest context, and polling/atmosphere framing follow AP via The Guardian, Sep 27, 2026. Handover-to-speaker quote, pardon of 49 people (23 tied to protest-period cases), and "ordinary man" campaign line follow AFP via France 24, Sep 27, 2026. DW same-day wrap cites dpa/AFP/Reuters/AP. Treat as a developing story: formal filing of the resignation with the assembly and exact presidential calendar may still be confirmed in later official notices. Monday-morning handover to Brnabić (seal, pardon documents, official records) follows N1 and B92 (Tanjug), Sep 28, 2026.