On 27 September 2026, Aleksandar Vučić read out his resignation statement in front of the presidency building in Belgrade. "Today is the day I step down," he told supporters gathered outside the building. A few minutes earlier, he had announced pardons for 49 people, including 23 individuals involved in the protests.
The decision brings to an end Vučić's second and final presidential term, which was due to expire in the middle of 2027. The constitution bars a third term, so the resignation opens the way to the post of prime minister. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 25 October, and Vučić will head the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) list under the name "United Serbia." Parliament speaker Ana Brnabić will become interim president until a new head of state is elected by the end of December.
18 months earlier, Vučić had already warned of an imminent resignation. In June 2026, at a rally of supporters, he said he would remain president "for just a couple of weeks." At the same time, he announced early elections amid mass student protests that began after the collapse of a canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024, which claimed 16 lives.
The protests, organised mainly by students, have become the most serious challenge to Vučić in more than a decade. The opposition and human rights defenders accuse the authorities of corruption and negligence in construction. Vučić and his party reject the accusations, but the pressure on the streets is not letting up.
Vučić has already changed posts more than once while retaining control: from prime minister to president, and now back to prime minister. Each time he invoked the will of the people and the need to "protect Serbia." The resignation in 2026 fits the same logic: constitutional limits and pressure from the streets forced him to change seats, but not to give up power.
The forces pushing Vučić are obvious. The short-term aim is to preserve influence until the elections. The medium-term aim is to prevent the opposition from coming to power. The hidden aim is to remain the key figure in the party and the country, despite the ban on a third presidential term. The public image of a "defender of Serbia" diverges from the documented practice: snap elections, coalitions and pardons are used to consolidate power.
Like a chess player forced to give up his queen to save his king, Vučić sacrifices the presidential seat for the chance to remain in power in another role. The move looks forced, but it is calculated to preserve his position.
This step shows how leaders who have held power for a long time adapt the rules to suit themselves when formal constraints and public pressure converge at a single point. For Serbia, this means a continuation of the struggle for control over the institutions, not their renewal.
