Thousands welcome cycling students in Kragujevac ahead of Serbia’s Oct. 25 election

KRAGUJEVAC, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people staged a cheerful welcome in a central Serbian town for a group of university students at the end of their cycling tour of the Balkan country ahead of an early election next month in which they are challenging populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

The students raised their bicycles in the air as they arrived in Kragujevac, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the capital Belgrade. The crowd waved Serbian flags and many cried as they lined up at the entry route for the students.

The students entered the Oct. 25 election race after leading nearly two years of protests triggered by a train station tragedy on Nov. 1, 2024, that killed 16 people in northern Serbia. The protests shook Vucic more than at any time since his party came to power in 2012.

The October vote is seen as a major test for Vucic. It will be held against the backdrop of heightened political tensions as the governing populists seek to remain in office despite widespread popular discontent.

Before coming to Kragujevac, the cycling students in the past 10 days traveled the country, each carrying a copy of Serbia's Constitution to symbolically insist on the rule of law.

Vucic, who has been Serbia’s prime minister or president since 2014, has announced that he would resign the presidency on Sunday so he can formally pursue a bid to become prime minister if his Serbian Progressive Party wins the October vote.

Vucic on Saturday said he spoke on the phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin about a gas deal for Serbia, and organized a small farewell party for the employees in the presidency building. He plans to host a national boxing team on Sunday morning.

In Kragujevac, the joyful crowd danced, sang and cheered to show support for the youth-backed “Students' List” of experts, university professors, teachers and other non-partisan individuals who are running against Vucic's SNS party.

Ilija Srdanovic, a physician and university professor who tops the student-backed election ticket, said that “this country must never again have a boss.” He was referring to Vucic's increasingly authoritarian rule in Serbia.

During the protests , the students demanded accountability for the concrete canopy collapse in the city of Novi Sad, alleging that corruption led to flawed renovation work on the building. Their struggle for justice has morphed into a nationwide drive for change.

Vucic has pushed back hard against the protesters, sparking international concern over police violence and arbitrary detentions. He has accused the students and their professors of intending to “destroy the state” under unspecified foreign guidance.

“They (authorities) treated us as enemies,” one student told the crowd in Kragujevac. “They spied on us and accused us of being enemies.”

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 Serbia have been marred by multiple irregularities and violence.