Belgrade: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced his resignation on Sunday, saying he will run for prime minister in snap parliamentary elections on October 25.

Vucic made the announcement at the presidential palace in Belgrade, where supporters had gathered outside. He said he would hand over duties to the parliament speaker on Monday.

Under Serbia’s constitution, outgoing parliament speaker Ana Brnabic will serve as interim president until a new one is elected. The presidential election must be completed within 90 days, with the first round expected by the end of December.

Vucic, 56, will head the electoral list of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). He resigned seven months before his second five-year term was due to end, although Serbian law did not require him to step down to contest the vote.

The snap election was a central demand of student-led protests that began after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people.

Next month’s vote will pit the SNS against Students Win, a student-led anti-corruption movement, and the pro-Western European Serbia alliance.