Serbia’s presidential election timetable is facing a legal challenge after Belgrade lawyer and activist Čedomir Stojković filed a criminal complaint against Ana Brnabić, the National Assembly speaker who is serving as acting president.
The complaint, reported by Rijeka Danas on November 5, alleges that Brnabić abused her office by failing to call a presidential election immediately after Aleksandar Vučić resigned. Stojković also requested her detention. These are allegations made by the complainant, not findings by prosecutors or a court.
The election issue centres on two separate questions: when the speaker must formally call the contest, and how long Serbia can wait before voters elect a new president.
Why Serbia needs a presidential election
Vučić resigned on September 27. According to the Serbian government’s account of the handover, Brnabić assumed presidential responsibilities on September 28 and will perform them until a successor is elected.
The government states that the speaker can carry out those duties for no more than three months. It also notes that a president’s mandate legally ends when the National Assembly receives the resignation, a distinction relevant to calculating the election deadline.
The provision behind the complaint
Stojković’s argument focuses on Article 267 of the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure. It requires the speaker, after receiving a presidential resignation, to promptly notify MPs and inform them that the speaker is replacing the president pending an election. The provision also says that the speaker calls the presidential election simultaneously.
That wording gives the dispute a procedural dimension beyond the final deadline for holding a vote: a timetable can be challenged over the timing of the formal election call even before the outer voting deadline arrives.
According to Rijeka Danas, photographs published by Stojković show a complaint addressed to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime in Belgrade, with a November 5 receipt stamp.
A receipt stamp records submission; it does not establish that prosecutors have endorsed the allegations. The report does not confirm that an investigation has been opened or that detention has been ordered.
What the election deadlines say
The Republic Electoral Commission’s guidance says an early presidential election must be called so that voting takes place no later than three months after the president becomes unable to serve or the mandate ends early.
It also specifies a campaign timetable: between 30 and 60 days must pass from the formal election call to polling day. Announcing when an election will be called therefore does not itself set the date on which voting will take place.
Brnabić said on October 30 that the election would be called by November 27 at the latest, according to public broadcaster RTS. She said a new acting president could issue the call if new institutions were formed earlier, and presented the timetable as consistent with the constitutional framework.
What to watch next
The next concrete election milestone is the formal decision calling the presidential vote and setting polling day. A prosecutorial response to the complaint would be a separate development. Whether a procedural breach occurred, and whether any conduct meets the requirements for a criminal offence, are distinct questions.
Brnabić’s October 30 statement predates this complaint and should not be treated as her response to it. The Rijeka Danas report does not include a response from her to the specific allegations.
For the parliamentary contest and the broader transition, see Votendi’s Serbia parliamentary election results and election-night archive.
