site.btaSerbian President Calls for Calm after Clashes between Ruling Party Activists and Protesting Students

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has called for calm following isolated clashes in recent days in the Serbian capital Belgrade and other locations between activists of the ruling party and protesting students over the posting of stickers and the painting of graffiti, local media report.

“I call on everyone to calm down. Let everyone present their programmes, let them express their positions, let them go to the podiums, but not call for killing, not call for violence. I also ask my people, if you are attacked, should you also hit back?” Vucic said today during a visit to the State Data Centre in Kragujevac, as quoted by RTS.

He said that early parliamentary elections in Serbia will be held within two to six months and announced that if his political opponents win, he would congratulate them on the same evening.

Vucic added that he does not see any public opinion polls showing that the student list is close in popularity to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.

The students, who participated in blockades at more than 60 faculties in Serbia during 2024 and 2025, led anti-government protests, put forward anti-corruption demands, and called for early parliamentary elections.

The demand was triggered by a tragic incident in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, where on November 1, 2024, the concrete canopy of a recently renovated railway station collapsed, killing 16 people and seriously injuring one.

The protesting students announced that they will not take part in the vote, but will support a candidate list of public figures who have not previously been involved in the country’s political life.