A Year of Defiance: Aleksandar Vucic Serbia Corruption Protest 2026

"Thieves!" The chant echoed through the streets of Novi Sad on January 17, 2026, as thousands gathered to mark over a year of sustained resistance against President Aleksandar Vucic. Led by university students, the movement shows no signs of waning, fueled by deep-seated frustration over endemic corruption and the perceived erosion of the rule of law.

The Aleksandar Vucic Serbia Corruption Protest 2026: Roots in Tragedy

The current wave of protests traces back to a catastrophic event in November 2024, when a train station roof collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people. What the government called an accident, the public viewed as a consequence of systemic graft. Tensions reached a boiling point last month when a high court dropped charges against former Construction Minister Goran Vesic, citing insufficient evidence. According to news agencies, an independent probe backed by the European Union is currently investigating the potential misuse of funds in the ill-fated infrastructure project.

Vucic's Defiance and the Student Roadmap

President Vucic, who has been in power for over a decade, hasn't backed down. He has dismissed the protesters as "foreign-funded coup plotters" and refused to call for the early elections the students demand. Meanwhile, the student movement has collected nearly 400,000 signatures for their election bid. Their plan involves a radical overhaul: banning corrupt officials from politics and conducting thorough investigations into the wealth of government members.