Serbia Sets Oct. 25 Vote; Vucic Eyes Premiership
Serbia Sets Oct. 25 Vote; Vucic Eyes Premiership
The News
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dissolved parliament Wednesday and called a snap parliamentary election for Oct. 25, bowing to nearly two years of student-led protests demanding he go.
Vucic signed the order himself and framed the vote as a way out of the crisis. "Elections will be held in Serbia on October 25. I believe that, after the elections, we will finally emerge from this crisis," he said.
The catch: he is not leaving power. Barred from another presidential term, Vucic says he intends to run for prime minister — a job he held before — in a move Bloomberg described as a political playbook that could see him transition from president to premier.
Timeline
A railway station canopy collapses in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing at least 16 people. Protesters blame corruption for shoddy construction, and student-led demonstrations begin.
Hundreds of thousands protest over nearly two years, escalating from demands for a transparent investigation to demands for snap elections. Hundreds of demonstrators are detained.
Vucic says he will set Oct. 25 as the date for a snap vote, Reuters reports, as he looks to tighten his grip on Serbian politics and be elected prime minister.
Vucic signs the order dissolving parliament and formally calls the election in a televised address.
Serbians go to the polls.
Reactions
Vucic cast the election as a referendum on direction. "We have had … huge turbulences," he said in his televised address. "We need election results that will clearly show the will of the people and the direction where Serbia is going."
Protesters accuse Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party of corruption, authoritarianism, ties to organized crime, and of slowing Serbia's bid to join the European Union, according to Deutsche Welle. Vucic has denied the accusations and has blamed protesters for trying to "destroy the state."
France 24 called the vote a key test of Vucic's populist party after nearly two years of protests. The Jerusalem Post reported the longtime leader is seeking a new path back to the premiership.
What's Next
Vucic is expected to announce his resignation from the presidency in the coming days and launch his campaign for the parliamentary vote, Deutsche Welle reported. He still commands his party's support.
The Oct. 25 result will decide whether the party that has run Serbia for more than a decade keeps its majority — and whether Vucic gets the parliamentary seat he needs to become prime minister again.
More
Why Americans should care: Vucic is a nationalist who has held power as both president and prime minister for more than a decade while keeping close ties with Russia and China, according to Deutsche Welle, even as Serbia pursues EU membership. The October vote will shape which way the biggest country in the western Balkans leans.
Poll
Will the October election end Serbia's political crisis?
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