İstanbul mayor's university diploma revoked, blocking potential presidential bid

İstanbul University has revoked the diploma of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a move that could prevent him from running in Turkey’s next presidential election scheduled for 2028. Under Turkish law, candidates for the presidency must hold at least a university degree.

Last month, İmamoğlu announced his candidacy in the Republican People’s Party (CHP) primary on Mar 23 to determine the party’s presidential nominee. The party previously stated İmamoğlu would run in the primary regardless of the outcome of the investigation into his diploma.

İstanbul University convened today to review İmamoğlu’s diploma status as part of an ongoing investigation and later issued a statement announcing its cancellation. The mayor labeled the decision as "unlawful."

'Improper horizontal transfer'

The university’s statement cited a report by Turkey’s Higher Education Supervisory Board, which found that İmamoğlu was among a group of students who were improperly admitted to the university’s Business Administration Faculty through a horizontal transfer process in 1990.

The university’s decision revoked the diplomas of 28 graduates, including İmamoğlu, citing "nullity" and "clear error" as the reasons for cancellation. It also confirmed that 10 students had previously had their records erased due to similar irregularities.

The university further stated that it would continue investigations into all past transfer admissions across its faculties and that all documents related to the decision had been sent to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).

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İmamoğlu's response

İmamoğlu responded to the university's decision on social media, calling it "unlawful."

"They do not have the authority to make such a ruling. Only the Faculty of Business Administration’s Board has this authority. Those responsible for this decision will soon be held accountable before history and justice," he wrote. "The march of our people, who long for justice, the rule of law, and democracy, cannot be stopped," he wrote.

İmamoğlu’s lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, echoed this stance, saying that the university board lacked the legal authority to revoke a diploma.

Citing Article 15 of Turkey’s Higher Education Law (Law No. 2547), Pehlivan argued that the board serves only as an advisory body to the rector in administrative matters and "has no authority to revoke a diploma."

"The university’s board has no more authority over a diploma than the university’s cafeteria does. In other words, they have no authority at all," he wrote.

Pehlivan further emphasized that, under "the principle of parallelism in authority and procedure" in administrative law, only the Faculty Board could issue such a decision.

Background of the probe

Allegations regarding the validity of Ekrem İmamoğlu’s diploma first emerged after he was elected mayor of İstanbul in the 2019 local elections.

On Feb 15, 2020, a complaint was submitted to Turkey’s Presidential Communication Center (CİMER), claiming that İmamoğlu had illegally transferred from Girne American University (GAÜ) in Northern Cyprus to İstanbul University in 1990.

In response, İstanbul University stated that İmamoğlu had applied for a transfer under the university’s officially announced foreign transfer quota and that his application had been assessed and approved based on the relevant regulations.

The controversy resurfaced in September, when another complaint was filed with CİMER and later forwarded to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which then referred the matter to the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).

At the time of İmamoğlu’s transfer in 1990, YÖK did not recognize GAÜ, leading to allegations that his diploma was invalid.

İmamoğlu graduated from İstanbul University in 1994.

On Feb 22, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into İmamoğlu on charges of “forgery of an official document.”

The investigation is primarily based on a report issued by YÖK’s Supervisory Board on Feb 17. The report confirmed that İmamoğlu had met the academic requirements for transfer but GAÜ was not recognized by YÖK in 1990.

It also cited a 1993-1994 YÖK decision stating that diplomas from GAÜ would not be considered equivalent unless the student had passed Turkey’s national university entrance exam.

İmamoğlu provided testimony to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Mar 5. He alleged that the investigation into his diploma was politically motivated and intended to block his presidential candidacy.

The mayor also argued that İstanbul University had issued him an equivalency certificate at the time, making his diploma legally valid.

As part of the investigation, on Feb 26, the prosecutor’s office sent a formal request to İstanbul University, demanding all documents related to İmamoğlu’s education, the names of officials who approved his transfer, and records of similar transfers during that period.

On Feb 28, İstanbul University confirmed that an internal inquiry had been launched.

Following the launch of the investigation, CHP leader Özgür Özel commented, “This shows how much they fear İmamoğlu.”

(VK)