Presidential elections will be held in Serbia by 26 December 2026 to elect the president of Serbia, following the resignation of Aleksandar Vučić to run for prime minister in the 2026 parliamentary election. Vučić is ineligible to run again as president, as he has served two consecutive terms.
The Student List has announced their participation in the elections, as well as the Socialist Party of Serbia.
Background
A populist coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), came to power after the 2012 election, along with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). Aleksandar Vučić, who initially served as deputy prime minister of Serbia and later as prime minister of Serbia, was elected president of Serbia in 2017 and re-elected in 2022. Since he came to power, observers have assessed that Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, followed by a decline in media freedom and civil liberties. The V-Dem Institute has categorised Serbia as an electoral autocracy since 2014, while Freedom House noted in 2024 that SNS "eroded political rights and civil liberties, put pressure on independent media, the opposition, and civil society organisations".
Student-led protests
In the aftermath of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse in November 2024, ministers Goran Vesić and Tomislav Momirović announced their resignation from office. Their resignation was acknowledged by the National Assembly on 25 November. Student-led anti-corruption protests also began in November 2024, with one of the demands being the release of Novi Sad railway station canopy documents to the public. At the protest on Slavija Square on 22 December, it was estimated that 100,000 demonstrators were present at the protest. A major series of civil disobedience that were promoted as a "general strike" also occurred on 24 January 2025. At a 15 March protest, it was estimated that over 325,000 demonstrators were present. After a group of students were physically attacked in Novi Sad, Miloš Vučević, the prime minister of Serbia, announced his resignation from office on 28 January. His resignation was acknowledged by the National Assembly on 19 March. Đuro Macut succeeded Vučević as prime minister on 16 April. Macut is the third independent politician to be nominated for the office of prime minister of Serbia.
Electoral system The president of Serbia is elected every five years in a direct election with the secret ballot voting method. A candidate nomination can be submitted either by a registered political party, a coalition of political parties, or a citizens' group (grupa građana) to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), at most 20 days before the election. When submitting a candidate, the nominator also has to submit the candidate's written consent, a scanned ID card, at least 10,000 valid signatures, the list of signatories, and a confirmation from the nominating political party, coalition, or citizens' group. The nomination can be withdrawn, while once proclaimed, a candidate can also quit the election. The voting ballot contains the name and date of the election, ordinal numbers, names of the candidates, names of the nominators, and notes telling the voter that the voting is conducted via secret ballot and that they can only vote for a single candidate. Every adult citizen in Serbia who has not been ruled incapable of managing their own affairs has the right to vote in presidential elections.
The RIK, local election commissions, and polling boards oversee the election. Once the election concludes, local election commissions have to send all ballots to the RIK in less than 96 hours. Once the RIK obtains all ballots, they have 96 hours to release the results of the presidential election. A presidential election is called by the president of the National Assembly of Serbia, who has to call the election at least 90 days before the outgoing president's term expires. The election has to be held during the weekend. In case of state of war or emergency, elections have to be held at most three months after the proclamation of the end of the state of war or emergency. The same applies in case the president's term ends earlier, either due to death or resignation. The campaign can last between 30 and 60 days. A candidate is elected president if they receive a majority of votes, that is, at least 50% of all valid votes. If this does not happen, a second round is held within 15 days of the proclamation of the results. Two candidates that have received the most votes in the first round appear on the ballot for the second round. However, if two or more candidates tied for first or second place, they appear on the ballot too. A candidate who receives the most votes in the second round is elected president. In case if one candidate loses the right to vote between the two rounds, the entire voting process is repeated.
In case if parliamentary and presidential elections (general elections) are held on the same day, the voting proceeds at the same voting stations, while the same commissions and boards oversee the elections.
Election date Vučić's second term will end on 31 May 2027. By law, a presidential election has to be held before 1 May 2027. A presidential election can be scheduled earlier. In April 2024, Vučić said that general elections will be held in 2027, while beginning in October 2025, he hinted that they could be held in late 2026. In March 2026, however, Vučić suggested that the elections could be held separately. Dragan Popović from the Centre for Practical Politics has suggested that presidential and parliamentary elections could be held together, while former politician Bojan Pajtić said that he was sceptical. Vladimir Pejić of Faktor Plus has assessed that the elections will be held separately. On the other hand, Dušan Vučićević, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade, said that presidential and parliamentary elections will be held together.
During an SNS gathering on 28 June, Vučić announced that he would resign in the coming weeks. In case of a resignation, Vučić will be temporarily replaced by the president of the National Assembly until the election of the next president. Insajder has reported that despite Vučić's multiple announcements of resignation, analysts do not believe that the elections will be held in 2026. Zdravko Ponoš, the president of Serbia Centre said that Vučić will resign in 2027, shortly before Expo 2027 commences. Ivica Dačić, the president of SPS, said in June that he did not discuss presidential elections with Vučić, but said that he would prefer elections to be held during their regular schedule.
Vučić resigned on 27 September, meaning that elections could take place as early as 1 November or as late as 26 December.
Candidates
Government Aleksandar Vučić, president of Serbia and former prime minister is ineligible for a third term and has confirmed he will step down as president. The newspaper Danas has reported that the SNS has not found a charismatic candidate yet and that because of it, presidential and parliamentary elections could be held on the same day, with Vučić as the prime ministerial candidate of SNS. The newspaper has also suggested Dačić as the government's candidate, while the magazine Vreme has suggested Vučević, Macut, and Ana Brnabić as potential candidates. The political commentator Nebojša Krstić said that Brnabić would be a "good candidate" (odličan kandidat) for SNS. In March 2026, Vučić said that he had two or three potential candidates in mind.
The journalist Jelena Obućina of Nova suggested , the president of the Constitutional Court, as a potential presidential candidate of the SNS. Vučić also said that it would "not be a bad idea" (nije loša ideja) to see him as a presidential candidate, having compared him to Albert Einstein.
Vojislav Šešelj, the president of the Serbian Radical Party, announced that he could run in the presidential elections. Dačić announced that the SPS would nominate its own candidate.
Opposition Branimir Nestorović, the president of the We – Power of the People political party, has announced his participation in the election.
Ponoš said that in case if parliamentary and presidential elections are to be held separate, the largest political movement should nominate a joint presidential candidate, which Ponoš stated was the student movement. Miloš Jovanović, the president of the New Democratic Party of Serbia, said that the opposition should submit their joint presidential candidate, but also said that students should also take part in the discussions.
Students The student movement has announced its participation in the 2026 Serbian parliamentary election, as well as the presidential elections. Vladan Đokić, the current rector of the University of Belgrade, in an interview with the magazine Radar, said that his role in the parliamentary or presidential elections will be decided by students and the public. The political scientist Dušan Spasojević said that Đokić would be a great presidential candidate, but that he should lead an electoral list in the parliamentary elections instead.
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