Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced his resignation on Sunday, ending his second five-year term so he can run for prime minister in the October 25 snap parliamentary election.

Vucic, 56, told hundreds of cheering supporters outside the presidency building in Belgrade that he would formally hand over his duties to Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic the following morning. “This is the last evening for me in this building,” he said. “I have faithfully served you and my fatherland.”

Under Serbia’s constitution, Brnabic will serve as interim president until a new one is elected within 90 days. Vucic said the first round of presidential elections would take place by the end of December.

The snap election was a central demand of a student-led protest movement that began after a Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse in November 2024 killed 16 people. The disaster triggered some of Serbia’s largest demonstrations since 2000, with rallies at times attracting hundreds of thousands.

Vucic has dominated Serbian politics for more than a decade and is banned from seeking a third presidential term. He will head the electoral list of his Serbian Progressive Party against the student-led Students Win movement and the pro-Western European Serbia alliance.