Serbian police clashed with a large number of anti-government protesters, demanding an early election and ended President Aleksandar Vucic's 12-year rule in the capital Belgrade.
About 140,000 protesters gathered in the city, the largest turnout in recent months, as student-led demonstrations are under increasing pressure on the populist government. “We want an election!” the crowd shouted.
Dozens of people have been arrested and riot police have seen tear gas and stun grenades.
President Vucic accused protesters of calling for election as part of a foreign plot that attempts to usurp his country. “They wanted to overthrow Serbia, they failed,” he wrote on the Instagram page.
Five people were detained on Friday and charged with murder of the government, according to a statement from the Serbian High Court in Belgrade.
Following the clash, the police minister strongly condemned the violence of protesters and said that those responsible would be arrested.
Months of protests across the country – including the university closure, shocked Mr Vucic, whose second term also ended parliamentary elections in 2027.
Sladjana Lojanovic, 37, a farmer from the northern town of SID, said Saturday that she came to support the students.
“These institutions have been usurped, … there is a lot of corruption. The election is the solution, but I don't think he (Vucic) will go peacefully.”
The president has previously rejected the SNAP election. His Progressive Party-led coalition has 156 of 250 parliamentary seats.
Mr. Vucic's opponents accuse him and his allies of organizing crime, corruption, violence against competitors and curbing media freedom, which they deny.
He maintained close ties with Russia, and Serbia (a candidate for EU membership) has not yet joined the Western sanctions regime imposed on Moscow by its invasion of Ukraine.
Protests from students, opposition, teachers, workers and farmers began last December after the roof collapse of the Novi Sad Firway Station, which died on November 1. Protesters blame the disaster on corruption.
The accident has forced the former prime minister to resign.
As Saturday's protests ended, organizers issued a statement to the crowd calling on Serbs to “take freedom into their own hands” and give them a “green light.”
“The authorities have always had all mechanisms and have always met requirements and prevented escalation,” the organizers said in a statement on Instagram following the rally.
“Instead, they chose violence and repression against the people. Any radicalization of the situation is their responsibility.”
