Mayor of Loznica resigns

In his resignation letter addressed to the head of the Loznica Municipal Council, Petrovic cited health and family reasons for his resignation. The resignation letter, obtained by the daily Danas, is dated August 5.

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

Loznica is a city in western Serbia, in the Jadar Valley where the company Rio Tinto has plans to open a lithium mine.

When asked about the future of the municipality, which has been in the spotlight recently due to environmental protests against the Rio Tinto project, Pajic said the Loznica Municipal Council is scheduled to meet on October 25, as their last session was held on July 25.

Petrovic has served as mayor of Loznica for 20 years. The city has recently drawn public attention due to the controversial Jadar project and plans for lithium mining in the region.

In 2022, Petrovic resigned from the working group for the implementation of the Jadar project.