Vucic Rejects Ultimatum as 140,000 Serbs Rally for Snap Election

Serbia’s months-long anti-corruption movement reached a new peak on 28 June when an independent tally estimated about 140,000 people—mostly students and civil-society activists—filled central Belgrade demanding snap parliamentary elections and the resignation of President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been in power for 12 years. Police put the turnout far lower, at 36,000.

Violence erupted after nightfall. Riot police fired tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades as some demonstrators hurled rocks, flares and bottles. The Interior Ministry said 48 officers were injured and 22 protesters sought medical help. Seventy-seven people were arrested, most on criminal-damage and public-order charges.

Organisers had set a 9 p.m. deadline for the government to call early elections; Vucic rejected the ultimatum, branded protest leaders “terrorists” and vowed more arrests. The following night protesters blocked major roads and bridges in Belgrade and at least 18 other cities, erecting makeshift barricades. Police dismantled the blockades in the early hours of 30 June and detained additional demonstrators as tensions persisted.

The student-led protests began after the November 2024 collapse of a newly renovated railway-station roof in Novi Sad that killed 16 people and became a symbol of alleged graft and mismanagement. Although the prime minister resigned earlier this year, the government has resisted calls to move elections forward from the scheduled 2027 date.

International reactions are sharpening. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Western governments against supporting what they called a potential “colour revolution” in Serbia, while the European Union and domestic rights groups urged restraint from both security forces and protesters.