Events have moved fast since Student List won Serbia's parliamentary elections on October 25. Here are some of the most notable events to have unfolded in the week since Serbia's former leader Aleksandar Vucic was ousted from office after more than a decade in power.
Two Senior Police Officials Arrested
Marko Kricak, head of Serbia's Criminal Police Directorate, and Bosko Sekulovic, a police commander tasked with fighting organized crime, were arrested on November 1. The two are accused of abusing their positions amid an investigation into a complex murder case in May that initially involved Belgrade's then police chief Veselin Milic.
Kricak had been decorated and repeatedly praised by Vucic. The police official was also linked to allegations of police brutality against anti-government demonstrators. Prosecutors have claimed Kricak's arrest has "nothing to do with" the October 25 election victory by Student List.
Alta Bank Owner Arrested, Bank Loses License
Davor Macura, the owner of Alta Bank, was arrested in Belgrade on November 2 and is due to be questioned by the Organized Crime Prosecutor's office. Alta Bank, which was used by several of Serbia's largest state-owned companies, had its license revoked on October 30 by the National Bank of Serbia, which claimed "the bank's financial condition had significantly deteriorated, and there was a possibility of further deterioration."
Macura is a prominent business figure with connections to the Vucic government. His Alta Bank was used by Russian-owned companies and individuals based in Serbia, and its parent company had been investigated by the European Central Bank for suspected money laundering. Alta's parent company told journalists the European bank's probe was closed in 2025, and "at no point did the ECB, or any other authority, find Alta Group or any of its companies responsible for any wrongdoing."
Belgrade's Central Pioneers' Park Reopens
A pro-government encampment set up in a park alongside Serbia's Parliament building was broken up in the hours immediately following the election results, and the space has since been reopened to the public.
The encampment in Pioneers' Park appeared in March 2025 in opposition to student-led anti-government protests. Several violent incidents took place in and around the camp, and police had helped those inside block access to the site.
Ksenija, a Belgrade local, described "cleaning and crying" as she helped clean up the park following the encampment's demolition.
High-School Principal Arrested
Radivoje P. Stojkovic, head of the Jovina High School in the northern city of Novi Sad, was arrested on October 28.
The arrest came following Stojkovic's refusal to comply with a court ruling requiring him to permit four of his school's teachers to return to work. The teachers were among several suspended in May for what the school of more than 1,000 students claimed was "gross manipulation of underage students through the dissemination of calls for street protests and boycotts of classes," amid mass anti-government protests.
The educator was a prominent supporter of Vucic, and the former Serbian leader appeared to back Stojkovic amid scandal over the suspensions.
Exit Festival Announces Return To Novi Sad
Exit festival, one of Europe's largest music events, announced it would return to its founding city of Novi Sad in 2027. In an Instagram post that received more than 100,000 reactions, the famed Serbian festival promised an unspecified event in July 2027 to celebrate "freedom, unity, and love," with a full-scale festival planned for the following year.
Exit left Serbia in 2025, blaming "undemocratic pressures" on the event and some of its sponsors that organizers claimed were linked to Exit's vocal support for Serbia's student protest movement.
Heads Roll At State Broadcasters
Several top managers at Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) and Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV), the country's two major public broadcasters, resigned or have been dismissed. RTS Director Manja Grcic dismissed the head of the news department on October 28 before resigning herself later that day amid pressure from some employees at the company and representatives of the student protest movement.
Several department heads were also dismissed, and RTS issued an apology to its viewers for "everything that was omitted over the previous period."
At the Novi Sad-based RTV, General Manager Goran Karadzic resigned on October 26, followed by the broadcaster's editor-in-chief, Nenad Cacic, on October 30. The broadcaster opened its evening news bulletin with an apology to viewers for "not performing its function for many years."
Political Graffiti Repainted
Graffiti targeting student protesters had appeared in recent months on Belgrade buildings, including descriptions of anti-government demonstrators as "terrorists" and comparisons of the protest movement to the notorious Croatian nationalist Ustashe movement. Several such messages have now been painted over with white paint or street art by volunteers.
Murals depicting convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic have also been painted over, along with graffiti referencing Serbian claims to Kosovo.
Amos Chapple contributed to this report from Prague.