Thousands of protesters flooded into Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, on June 28th, demanding early elections to continue the months-long protest activities led by students.
According to a journalist from Agence France-Presse at the scene, a large crowd continuously gathered at a major square in the capital during the hours-long rally.
Protesters held Serbian flags and banners, many of which displayed the names of towns in this Balkan country, and the event kicked off with a collective singing of the national anthem.
One of the banners read, “We are not the root of the problem, we are the result.”
Since November last year, anti-corruption protests have continued to shake up the political landscape in Serbia. The collapse of a train station roof in the northern city of Novi Sad resulted in 16 deaths, with this tragedy widely attributed to deep-rooted corruption issues.
For over six months, students have initiated blockades on various university campuses across the country and organized large-scale demonstrations demanding a transparent investigation into the aforementioned incident.
Due to the authorities’ delayed response, protesters shifted their demands last month to call for an early parliamentary election.
Student organizers issued a “final ultimatum” to President Aleksandar Vucic, demanding that he announce early elections by 9 p.m. (GMT 19:00) today.
Vucic rejected this demand yesterday and reiterated that there would be no national elections before the end of 2026. Through Serbia’s national television station (RTS), he stated, “I will not accept this ultimatum, you do not need to wait until tomorrow night at 9.”
(Central News Agency translation)