BELGRADE, Serbia — University students across Serbia are preparing for their largest demonstration of 2025 this weekend, intensifying their campaign for sweeping political reform in the Balkan nation governed by authoritarian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Saturday’s rally in the capital city of Belgrade is expected to draw thousands of participants from across the country.
The student-led movement previously organized massive anti-corruption demonstrations that challenged Vucic’s authority throughout last year. Currently, the activists are focusing their efforts on upcoming elections scheduled for later this year or early next, which they believe could remove Vucic’s right-wing populist administration from power.
“We hope a lot of people will come and spend the day with us, and then continue to support the students because we are preparing for the elections,” youth representative Isidora Jovanovic told The Associated Press. “Serbia needs a change, and students will bring that change.”
Saturday’s demonstration will take place at Belgrade’s Slavija Square, where a massive anti-government gathering occurred last March. That previous rally concluded with an abrupt disturbance that analysts later claimed — though the government disputed — involved authorities deploying a sonic weapon against peaceful demonstrators.
Earlier this week at the square, law enforcement officers intervened to keep Vucic’s supporters separated from students who were creating their “Students win” banners. Several days before that incident, an elderly person sustained injuries when a motorist disrupted a traffic blockade in downtown Belgrade.
Multiple confrontations have occurred in recent months, including violent episodes that disrupted a local election in March.
Jovanovic stated that event organizers are taking every precaution to prevent any confrontations, particularly given the large number of attendees expected from throughout Serbia. The students “don’t want any of them (citizens) to leave with a bad feeling or injuries.”
The student activism began following a railway station disaster that claimed 16 lives in northern Serbia during November 2024. The movement maintained faculty blockades for months in 2025, ultimately forcing then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and his administration to step down.
The demonstrators declared that outcome insufficient and have called for early elections, which Vucic has yet to schedule.
The demand for responsibility regarding the concrete canopy collapse at the Novi Sad station struck a chord with the general population, as many citizens attributed the disaster to widespread corruption and carelessness in government infrastructure developments.
Dusan Vucicevic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, described how the youth movement has evolved into a significant political force with substantial public backing. He believes students can anticipate an “excellent result” in future voting.
“We finally have a political group that can challenge the (ruling) Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vucic,” Vucicevic told the AP.
Vucic has mounted an aggressive campaign against the demonstrators. Government-aligned media outlets have labeled his opponents as terrorists and foreign operatives seeking to harm the nation — language that has intensified political tensions.
The president’s supporters will probably occupy a park encampment near the presidency building on Saturday, which he established last March, seemingly as protection against protesters. Multiple assaults on demonstrators and media personnel have been documented near the camp previously.
Accounts of law enforcement using disproportionate force and making arbitrary arrests of protesters have drawn international attention. Serbia’s retreat from democratic principles could result in the loss of approximately 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in European Union funding designated for membership candidate countries.
Branislav Vasic and Filip Novakovic, first-year students at Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Sciences, told the AP they plan to attend Saturday’s demonstration. The 19-year-olds described participating alongside their senior classmates in protests as essential.
“Everyone should go to the rally out of principle because of the situation,” Vasic said. He maintains that “there is the strength for change as long as people want it.”
Novakovic expressed his belief that “we are together in this, one step away from a better future.” He said this generation possesses a unique opportunity to achieve the transformations that earlier generations were unable to accomplish.
“I will keep trying as long as I live,” he said. “This struggle is a long one.”
