In the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, thousands of people protested on Saturday to commemorate an accident in 2024, when 16 people died after part of the roof collapsed at the train station there. The demonstrators demanded early elections, reports TASR according to the Reuters agency.
- Thousands of people protested in Novi Sad
- The train station accident exposed alleged systemic government failures and corruption.
- The student movement calls for early parliamentary and presidential elections.
The protests were triggered by an accident at the railway station
After the accident, student-led anti-government protests spread across Serbia, occasionally turning violent and shaking the 13-year rule of President Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Protesters, the opposition and human rights groups say the accident at the train station was a manifestation of the government’s wider failure to manage construction projects and corruption.
Crowds of people gathered in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city, on Saturday in temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius and chanted the slogan “Victory”. Many carried banners and wore T-shirts that read “Students Win.”
Criticism of Vučič
Activists from the student movement claim that they want to challenge Vucic and his SNS in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Both are scheduled for 2027. However, Vucic said he could announce them earlier, in the coming months, Reuters reports.
Protesters and human rights organizations also accuse Vucic and government officials of election manipulation, violence against opponents, restrictions on media freedom, corruption and links to organized crime. The president and his allies deny the allegations.
Vučič: I urge people not to show anger towards anyone
At the time of the protest, Vucic made a televised speech in which he announced that his supporters would gather on June 27.
“I call on them (people) not to show anger towards anyone… but to gather under the Serbian flag,” the president said.
Serbia is a candidate to join the European Union (EU), but Belgrade must first improve the state of the rule of law, including the conditions for free and fair elections, the functioning of the judiciary, and eliminate corruption and organized crime. He must also align his foreign policy with EU policy, including imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Reuters explains.
