Vidoje Petrovic, the Mayor of the Serbian city of Loznica, resigned just six months after being re-elected.

In his resignation letter to the head of the Loznica Municipal Council, Petrovic cited personal health and family concerns as the reasons for stepping down.

The letter, dated August 5, was published by the newspaper Danas.

Dragan Pajic, a council member from the Smelo (Boldly) citizens’ group, confirmed to Danas that they were aware of the resignation by August 16, but the municipal administration officially recorded it on October 10.

Loznica, located in western Serbia’s Jadar Valley, is where the company Rio Tinto intends to establish a lithium mine.

When asked about the future of the municipality, which has recently been noted for environmental protests against the Rio Tinto project, Pajic mentioned that the Loznica Municipal Council is set to meet on October 25; their previous meeting was on July 25.

Having held the mayor’s office in Loznica for 20 years, Petrovic’s dissension has been marked by the controversial Jadar project and the plans for lithium mining in the area.

In 2022, Petrovic left the working group responsible for the Jadar project.