DOMINANT ANGLE
Kyiv sees Aleksandar Vučić's departure from the presidency as an institutional maneuver: constrained by the two-term limit, he is aiming for the post of Prime Minister, which is deemed more powerful than the presidency he is leaving.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Vučić announced his resignation on Sunday, September 27, 2026, before the end of his second presidential term (scheduled for mid-2027), to run for the post of Prime Minister in the early legislative elections on October 25.
- 02
After his resignation, power returns to Ana Brnabić, Speaker of the Parliament, who is holding the interim position as head of state until a presidential election.
- 03
Vučić, president since May 31, 2017 and reelected in April 2022, will lead the "Serbia United" list of the SNS, confirmed by the party's main committee.
ANALYSIS
Kyiv, September 28, 2026. The Ukrainian press is reporting on the announcement made by Aleksandar Vučić on Sunday, September 27, 2026: the Serbian president is stepping down after nine years at the helm of the state to run for the post of Prime Minister in the early legislative elections on October 25. TSN, citing Deutsche Welle, recalls that Vučić became president on May 31, 2017, and was re-elected in April 2022 for a second term that was set to end in mid-2027 — the Serbian Constitution prohibits the same person from holding the presidency for more than two consecutive terms.
According to the Ukrainian account, Vučić first mentioned the possibility of leaving office in August 2025, without linking it to a candidacy for the post of head of government at the time. The shift became clearer at the beginning of September, when he announced the dissolution of the Narodna skupština, the Serbian unicameral parliament, and called for early elections on October 25. The main committee of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) confirmed that it would lead the "Serbia United" list; in the event of a victory, Vučić would seek the position of Prime Minister, which Ukrainian media present as formally more powerful than the presidency.
The succession mechanism is of particular interest in Kyiv: after his resignation, Vučić will transfer his powers to Ana Brnabić, the Speaker of the Parliament, who will ensure the interim at the head of state until the organization of a presidential election made necessary by this early departure. NV Ukraine, quoting France 24, summarizes the operation in one sentence: after giving up the presidency he had held since 2017, Vučić is preparing his campaign for the legislative elections and is aiming for the post of head of government.
Kyiv interprets this sequence as an institutional maneuver rather than a political withdrawal: constrained by the constitutional limit of two terms, Vučić is changing seats without leaving power, betting on the post of Prime Minister, which the Ukrainian press emphasizes concentrates more prerogatives than the presidency he is abandoning. The coverage, built from Western dispatches, focuses on the electoral calendar and the game of parties more than on the roots of the protest that has been shaking Serbia for two years.
