“I always had a gram”: A former drug dealer won the local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

A candidate from the People and Justice Party, Avdullah Ilyazovic, was elected to the Parliament of Brčko District in Bosnia and Herzegovina

He received 31.86% of the vote in his precinct and became the youngest member of Parliament in the history of Brcko.

Even during the election campaign, Ilyazovich became famous when it turned out that three years ago he had been convicted of drug trafficking. The candidate, however, did not deny the obvious:

“I know that I got into a situation and there is no escape from it. I believe that I can show that a person, when there are real people around him, can do something that was unthinkable three years ago. Just know that I have always had a gram. Respect comes first”, –  Ilyazovich said.

Avdullah Ilyazovich also drew the attention of the press when he filed an application for the theft of votes, after which the Centre for Journalistic Investigations was able to identify a network of voice dealers in Brčko.