Officials from Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have publicly lamented after student protesters vetoed the inclusion of University of Belgrade Rector Vladan Đokić on their electoral list. The move, reported on September 6, 2026, has exposed a strategic crisis for the ruling party, prompting a sudden about-face from SNS figures who had previously criticized the rector.

SNS Presidency member Vladimir Đukanović, known as Đuka Bizon, called it a “shame” to veto a man he now describes as “most deserving” for supporting student blockades. This contrasts sharply with the party’s earlier criticism. The portal Srbin.info notes that before being elevated to dean and then rector by the “Vučić regime,” Đokić was just “one in a mass of professors.” His career includes serving as rector in two mandates, in 2026 and 2026, and holding roles on the board of the Institute for Architecture and the assembly of the Red Star football club.

The analysis suggests the SNS’s sudden support for Đokić stems from fear of losing a “reserve option.” The party had found him useful as proof the University was under control but could also attack him as a hypocrite. The student veto removes a single, recognizable face the regime could either attack or embrace to claim nothing substantive was changing.

The veto signals that the student rebellion refuses to become a “rector’s party” and will not be used for a managed transition of power. With elections not yet called, the battle over the list’s composition reveals a panic within the ruling circles over losing narrative control.