Serbia’s victorious student-led movement is demanding that top police, intelligence and judiciary figures step down, days after ousting ex-president Aleksandar Vučić’s party from power, BBC News reports from Belgrade.

In Pioneers’ Park opposite parliament, newly elected Student List MPs called for the immediate dismissal of police officers who broke the law, singling out the heads of the police, the BIA security agency and the anti-terror unit. The handover will take weeks; the movement fears evidence of possible wrongdoing could be destroyed in the meantime.

The movement grew from protests after a railway station canopy collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024 that killed 16 people. Their Student Plan promises to halt plunder, return stolen assets and invest in education and the economy. At state broadcaster RTS, director Manja Grčić has already stepped down; MP Mirjana Nikolić said RTS long served government interests. They also want Telekom Srbija’s leadership replaced.

Acting president Ana Brnabić, a Vučić loyalist, accused opponents of “revolutionary justice” and of aiming to shut down media they dislike. Economist Dejan Šoškić, a former central bank governor now an MP, wants media freedom, anti-corruption work, functioning institutions and a lustration law within six months.

All 141 successful candidates were chosen by students through a secretive process; the EU welcomed the win and pledged support for rule-of-law reforms. The manifesto treats the EU mainly as an economic partner; Šoškić suggested foreign-policy shifts — including on Russia — may not be an early priority. Vučić is legally barred from a third presidential term but vowed his party will fight back before December’s presidential vote.

Image: National Assembly of Serbia, Belgrade (Wikimedia Commons).

Sources consulted: Student-backed election winners demand sweeping resignations in Serbia - BBC News.