Divide and Rule: The Rise and Rise of a Bosniak Strongman in Serbia

"There is a trade-off going on between Zukorlic and Vucic and the BNV issue and his new appointment as deputy speaker of parliament are examples of this."

'Political message' Jasmina Curic, President of Bosniak National Council (BNV) in Serbia. Photo: BIRN

Appointed grand mufti in 1993 aged just 23, Zukorlic stayed in the post for 14 years but is still seen as calling the shots at the Islamic Community in Serbia, one of two rival Islamic communities in the Sandzak. He formally entered politics in 2010 and has built up a small empire of NGOs, businesses and media outlets that give him great sway over Sandzak society.

The BNV, however, accuses him of repeatedly failing to attend Council meetings and says that, by law, he should be replaced. But the Serbian Electoral Commission is blocking his replacement.

On December 17, the Commission approved replacements for two members of the BNV who had died, but was silent on Zukorlic.

"The Electoral Commission is directly endangering the decision-making process in the BNV and disrupting the electoral will of Bosniaks in Serbia," BNV President Jasmina Guric said in a written response to BIRN. The Serbian Electoral Commission did not respond to a request for comment.

The BNV is currently controlled by the SDA Sandzak thanks to its alliance with the SDP. Observers see the row as part of a long-standing policy by Belgrade to favour one Bosniak politician over another in an effort to control them all.

"If a simple administrative procedure becomes a long-running crisis it means that the government is sending a political message," said Medin Halilovic, a journalist in Novi Pazar, seat of the Sandzak region that straddles the border between Serbia and neighbouring...