Serbia’s snap election: Can Vucic outmanoeuvre the student revolt?

For weeks, the streets of Serbia were teeming with young people rallying against the government. At the height of the protests in March 2025, more than 100,000 took to the streets.The student movement had called for early elections for nearly two years, and President Aleksandar Vucic, who resigned on Sunday, finally heeded their call earlier this month. He announced snap parliamentary elections for October 25.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic gets hero’s burial in Serbialist 2 of 4Serbian government sets up snap vote with call to dissolve parliamentlist 3 of 4‘Direction Potocari’: From Srebrenica genocide to a Belgrade football matchlist 4 of 4EU condemns Serbia’s ministers for attending funeral of war criminal Mladicend of listWith the elections originally not due until December 2027, the early vote is seen as an attempt by governing populists to cling to power despite widespread discontent.Students and anti-government demonstrators light the flashlights of their mobile phones during a protest, which became a national movement for change following the deadly November 2024 Novi Sad railway station roof collapse, in Belgrade, Serbia, M...