Police clash with anti-government protesters demanding new elections

Protesters have marched in the Serbian capital Belgrade against the government of President Aleksandar Vucic. Saturday's protests were the latest in months of anti-government demonstrations which have mostly been led by students. They began when part of a roof collapsed at a newly renovated railway station in the city Novi Sad last year, resulting in 16 deaths and accusations of corruption. Riot police and protesters clashed after as many as 140 000 people marched through Belgrade demanding political change and early elections. The violence followed a day of peaceful protest which began with a vigil for the Novi Sad victims. The deaths ignited simmering anger over alleged corruption and links to organized crime in a government now in power for over a decade. People across Serbia poured into Belgrade in the latest mass protest demanding early elections. We are here today because we cannot take it anymore. This has been going on for too long. We are mired in corruption and evil. It is time to end this. We want to show that President Vucic has not defeated us, that there is still momentum to this rebellion. Pro-government supporters also rallied in front of the national parliament. We are fighters. We came here to support the state. These protests are no good at all. We are against them. With President Vucic vowing to stick to a timetable for election in 2027, further clashes look increasingly likely. Right, let's get more from DW correspondent Idro Seferi in Belgrade. Hello, Idro. This was one of the largest protests in the country in recent months, leading to violent clashes between police and the protesters. Tell us more. As you could see also in the report, there were two gatherings or two protests, one supporting the government and the other one asking for elections. Everything was fine for three hours when the protest starts until its end. But after that, some citizens still stayed in the streets and it came to clashes with the police. They were saying that they want to liberate the park where the students, pro-government students, are staying in tents for months. The latest information is that eight people were injured, out of which six police officers, during the last night clashes. It was very eminent to say that we could hear before in media and also state officials announcing violence and saying that if it comes to it, they will stop it. Right. I mean, one of the main demands of protesters is that they are demanding early elections. How is President Vucic responding to that? Well, President Vucic said that there will be no elections this year or next year. It is mandated until 2027 and then there will also be elections. Although before, in the beginning of this situation in Serbia, he was offering a referendum to put in vote his trust from citizens, but now it seems far from that. We had elections in Serbia in some small towns for mayors where the competition was very tight and President Vucic won only with 51 votes more. Right. As you mentioned earlier and as we saw in the report, pro-government supporters also rallied in front of the national parliament. How strong is the support for Vucic and his government? Well, the government and Vucic are very well organized and they have been showing their support also in some other rallies because President Vucic is trying to create a new political party or so-called the movement for state and it's also trying to show that this support is still strong. Of course, it's not easy to say that the support is still that strong or the opposition is gaining, of course, support because students now have political demands, not like before, and they want elections. So, this is a new development lately, at least as a political request. Right, and we'll be keeping tabs on that. DW correspondent Idro Seferi in Belgrade. Thank you.