Protesters flocked to a central square in Belgrade from many directions. From the morning of May 23, many car convoys from other Serbian cities entered Belgrade.
The Serbian national railway company has canceled all trains to and from Belgrade on May 23 to prevent a part of the population from other areas of this Balkan nation from coming to the capital.
By evening, sporadic clashes broke out between protesters and police near the presidential palace as well as outside a park, where supporters of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had camped since March last year.
Police used tear gas and stun grenades to push back protesters deeper on the street. Some protesters burned trash cans.
The disaster at the Novi Sad railway station in November 2024 that killed 16 people sparked anti-corruption protests, demanding a transparent investigation and forcing the then Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to resign.
After that, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reacted strongly to the protests.
The protests have developed into a pressure campaign forcing Mr. Vucic to call for early elections.
This week, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the vote could be held between September and November this year.
Serbia is currently officially pursuing the goal of joining the European Union (EU), but still maintains close relations with Russia and China.
Last month, a top EU official in charge of EU expansion warned that Serbia's situation could cost the country about 1.5 billion euros (about 1.8 billion USD) in funding from the EU.
The venue for the May 23 protest is Slavija Square in Belgrade - which witnessed a large-scale anti-protest in March 2025.
