Aleksandar Vučić has resigned as president of Serbia / The country will hold an early presidential election

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić submitted his resignation on Sunday, seven months before the end of his second term, paving the way for an early presidential election. The vote must be held within three months, according to the Constitution, and in the meantime the office will be held on an interim basis by Ana Brnabić, the outgoing speaker of Parliament.

The resignation comes amid the campaign for Serbia’s early parliamentary election, scheduled for October 25. Vučić can no longer run for president, but stepping down allows him to be nominated as prime minister if the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) forms the next government.

Vučić announced at the end of June, at a rally held in Belgrade, that he intended to resign, but waited approximately three months before officially taking this step.

Before resigning, the Serbian leader told public broadcaster RTS that the presidential election would be called more than a month after the parliamentary vote. Serbian voters are therefore expected to go to the polls twice this year: to elect Parliament and to choose a new president. Vučić urged his supporters to focus on the parliamentary election, which he said would determine Serbia’s future direction.