Serbian students end cycling tour with rally ahead of October vote

Thousands of people gathered in the central Serbian city of Kragujevac to welcome a group of university students finishing a cycling tour of the country, in a show of support ahead of an early parliamentary election on October 25.

The students lifted their bicycles overhead as they reached the city, about 100 kilometers south of Belgrade. Crowds lined the entry route waving Serbian flags, and many were moved to tears.

Over the previous ten days, the cyclists had traveled across Serbia, each carrying a copy of the national Constitution as a symbolic call for the rule of law.

The students entered the election race after leading nearly two years of protests that began with the collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people. The demonstrations became the most serious challenge to President Aleksandar Vucic since his party took power in 2012.

In Kragujevac, the crowd danced, sang and cheered for the youth-backed "Students' List," a group of experts, university professors, teachers and other non-partisan candidates running against Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party.

Ilija Srdanovic, a physician and university professor who heads the ticket, told the gathering that the country must never again have a boss, a reference to what critics describe as Vucic's increasingly authoritarian rule.

During the protests, students demanded accountability for the Novi Sad canopy collapse, alleging that corruption led to flawed renovation work. Their campaign for justice has since grown into a broader nationwide push for change.

Vucic has pushed back hard against the protesters, drawing international concern over police violence and arbitrary detentions. He has accused the students and their professors of seeking to destroy the state under unspecified foreign guidance. One student told the crowd in Kragujevac that the authorities treated them as enemies, spied on them and accused them of being foes.

The October vote is seen as a major test for Vucic, held amid heightened political tensions as the governing populists seek to stay in office despite widespread discontent.

Vucic, who has served as Serbia's prime minister or president since 2014, has said he will resign the presidency on Sunday so he can formally pursue the premiership if his party wins the election. On Saturday, he said he had spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a gas deal for Serbia and held a small farewell party for staff at the presidency building. He planned to host the national boxing team on Sunday morning.

Serbia's bid to join the European Union has stalled under Vucic, who has maintained close ties with both Russia and China. Previous elections in the country have been marred by multiple irregularities and violence.