Thousands of students, citizens and war veterans gathered in the central Serbian city of Kraljevo on Sunday, continuing a wave of anti-government protests despite President Aleksandar Vučić’s announcement that he would step down in the coming weeks and pave the way for early elections.
The demonstration, held under the slogan “Everything Is Revealed on Vidovdan,” took place in the city’s central Square of Serbian Warriors amid soaring temperatures and heightened political tensions. Some protesters walked more than 40 kilometers from Kragujevac, while others arrived in relay groups from the nearby city of Čačak via the historic Žiča Monastery.
Protesters renewed demands for the rule of law, anti-corruption reforms, independent institutions and free and fair elections. Representatives of the student movement said that Vučić’s resignation announcement alone would not end the demonstrations, insisting that protests would continue until meaningful political and institutional reforms were implemented.
War veterans also addressed the crowd. Vladan Veselinović, a former member of Serbia’s 63rd Parachute Brigade, said that patriotism required “truth and resistance to pressure,” rather than silence in the face of political abuses.
Participants observed a minute of silence for the 16 victims killed in the collapse of the concrete canopy at Novi Sad railway station in November 2024. That tragedy triggered anti-corruption protests led by students, which have since evolved into the largest protest movement in Serbia since the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000.
Speaking to supporters in Belgrade on Saturday, Vučić said he would remain president for several more weeks before resigning and calling early presidential and parliamentary elections. However, he did not specify an exact date for his departure.
Many protesters and political analysts remain skeptical that Vučić’s resignation would translate into a genuine transfer of power. The Serbian leader has previously suggested that he could seek the post of prime minister, prompting student organizers to maintain pressure for comprehensive electoral and institutional reforms.
The latest protest in Kraljevo demonstrated that Vučić’s resignation announcement has failed to calm Serbia’s deepening political crisis. Protest leaders insist that their struggle is not against a single officeholder, but against what they describe as a political system that has captured state institutions and undermined democratic accountability.