According to media reports, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the center of Belgrade for new elections.
May 24, 2026, 04:28May 24, 2026, 04:28
“You are our chance to finally keep our promise – an honest government, freedom and a dignified life,” said one of the speakers, an electrical engineering student, according to the independent news agency Beta. On the sidelines of the event in the Serbian capital, there were clashes between unknown masked people and the police.
Thousands of people gathered again on the streets of Belgrade.Image: keystone
The rally was part of a series of protests sparked by the collapse of a train station canopy in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad in November 2024 that has been ongoing since. 16 people were killed in the accident. The protest movement is led by students who occupied practically all of the country’s universities for a year.
It is now supported by millions of citizens. They blame the government’s sloppiness and corruption under powerful President Aleksandar Vucic for the deadly accident in Novi Sad. The call for early elections is intended to enable a peaceful change of government. The next regular parliamentary election would have to take place at the end of 2027.
23 arrests after acts of violence against police
The riots on Saturday evening took place after the end of the demonstration and about a kilometer away from Slavija Square, the center of the rally. Masked men fired fireworks at the police. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said 23 people were arrested. An unspecified number of police officers were injured.
Vucic said on Instagram about the demonstrators: “As they have done so many times before, they showed off their violent nature.” In the past, it turned out that provocateurs had been infiltrated into similar mass protests and had committed similar acts of violence.
As on previous occasions of this kind, the Vucic government had stopped rail traffic throughout the country. Officially, Serbian Railways (Srbija Voz) gave no reason for the complete halt to operations. But apparently this is intended to make it more difficult for government opponents from outside Belgrade to travel to the rally. (sda/dpa)