Thousands gather in Serbian capital to call for elections

People march during an anti-government protest decrying corruption and calling for early elections following the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 in November 2024, in central Belgrade on May 23, 2026. [AFP]

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Belgrade Saturday to renew calls for early elections that grew out of the anti-corruption movement sparked by the 2024 Nov Sad rail station disaster.

Since the railway station canopy collapse in November 2024, which killed 16 people, calls for a transparent investigation into what happened have snowballed into a push for early polls.

Organisers called for demonstrators to gather between 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) and 8:00 pm at Slavija Square in the city centre, the site of the largest demonstrations over the last 18 months.

An hour before the protest was due to start, lines of people streamed from other parts of the city, many wearing t-shirts bearing the demonstration's slogan: "The students are winning." Others carried Serbian flags or ones representing their university faculty.

"The goal of today's protest is for all of us to gather again and to make it clear to people that we are still here, that we are fighting and working, that we have not stopped and will not stop," 24-year-old architecture student Andjela told AFP.

"Today, a clear message is being sent," said another marcher, pensioner Zoran Savic.

"Change must come, Serbia must become a democratic state, the rule of law must be present for everyone, meaning the rule of law equally for everyone," he said.

"And Serbia must be part of the democratic, European community," he added.

The protests have not stopped since the Novi Sad disaster, with one demonstration in March 2025 bringing as many as 300,000 together.

The students leading the movement hope Saturday's demonstration will relaunch their campaign to push President Aleksandar Vucic to call early elections. Vucic, who regularly raises the issue, suggested on Thursday that they could take place in autumn.

While the protests have passed off peacefully for the most part, some have been marred by clashes in recent months, with several protesters saying they were attacked by masked government supporters.

On Friday, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner warned that Serbia's rights situation had worsened, citing attacks on activists and journalists, shrinking civic space and alleged police abuses at protests.