BELGRADE – Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stepped down as the head of his political party in a concession seen as symbolic amid swelling street protests.

Mr Vucic, who has led the Progressive Party for 11 years, told reporters on Saturday that Defence Minister Milos Vucevic will replace him as party leader. 

Previously, the President raised the possibility of holding early elections as he sought to defuse swelling street protests against the ruling party in the wake of mass shootings that shocked the nation.

Two massacres in May, including Serbia’s first in a school, killed 18 people, most of whom were students, and wounded 20.

The shootings triggered protest marches by tens of thousands of people in the Balkan country’s biggest cities.

The ballot would be Serbia’s third since 2020, pitting the centre-right Progressive Party against a fractured opposition.

Liberal parties are calling for Serbia to join European Union sanctions against Russia to move closer to membership in the bloc, while conservatives and nationalists are opposed.

Since starting EU membership talks in 2014, the country of seven million people has balanced its historic ties with Russia with the proclaimed goal of joining the bloc.

Serbia relies on Russia for gas supplies and support in challenging the independence of Kosovo, which broke away in 2008 after a war.

Mr Vucic has dismissed the opposition-led protest marches as attempts to exploit the fatal shootings for political gain.

He has launched a national campaign to hand over illegal and licensed guns to reduce the risk of such attacks. BLOOMBERG