Mayoral Candidate Uses Porn to Lure Voters
Desperate to pique the interest of voters ahead of next month's elections in Bosnia, one candidate for mayor of the town of Zenica has spiced up his campaign website with video clips of pornography.
Mirad Hadziahmetovic, 43, an independent mayoral candidate in a Muslim dominated town in central Bosnia, uploaded several porn clips to his official website in hopes of bringing in some traffic.
Visitors to Hadziahmetovic's site are asked to answer a few questions about Zenica's economy and public policies and verify their age. One example: "What is more important for Zenica, job creation or increasing the municipal budget through taxes?"
After answering Hadziahmetovic's questions, they can then open the erotica. And following every explicit clip, Hadziahmetovic appears on camera saying, "If you liked this clip, vote for me."
Hadziahmetovic's site crashed under the traffic generated by thousands of eager viewers when it first went live last week, although it's not clear whether the enthusiastic response was an endorsement of his municipal policies.
The candidate is a businessman who is a rookie politician, and he admits his tactic is "provocative." But, he told ABC News, "I guess people like it. If it works, I made a name for myself, so electoral participation would go up greatly."
Lustful advertising is not the only unorthodox ingredient in his campaign. His political slogans are unconventional, particularly for this overwhelmingly Muslim city with a reputation of one of the most religious places in Bosnia. "Tehran or Hollywood?" one ad asks, adding, "The choice is yours! "
Zenica is the fifth largest city in Bosnia with a population of more than 90,000 people. The election will take place on Oct. 7.