AKP mayor's degree turns out to be fake: University issues denial

The claim in Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Yusuf Alemdar's biography that he graduated from Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) has been denied by the university administration. EMU announced that Alemdar never enrolled and that there is no record of a diploma for him.

According to a report in Kıbrıs Postası, Şemi Bora, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), made statements regarding Yusuf Alemdar's diploma. Bora stated that various reports have appeared in recent days in some news and media channels regarding whether Yusuf Alemdar holds an EMU diploma.

Bora stated, "We would like to inform you that Yusuf Alemdar never enrolled in our university, was not our student, and does not hold an Eastern Mediterranean University diploma."

HE CLAIMED "I GRADUATED" IN HIS BIOGRAPHY

Alemdar's biography on the Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality website reads as follows: "He was born in Trabzon in 1966. Having studied at the Faculty of Economics at Istanbul University, Alemdar graduated from the Faculty of Business Administration at Eastern Mediterranean University. After engaging in trade for many years, he entered active politics in 1988. Yusuf Alemdar, who became the AK Party Sakarya Provincial Chairman in 2003, held this position until 2009. He was elected Mayor of Serdivan in the 2009 local elections. He was re-elected as Mayor of Serdivan in the local elections held in 2014 and 2019.

Continuing his duties successfully, Yusuf Alemdar was elected Mayor of Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality in the March 31, 2024 local elections. Yusuf Alemdar is married and a father of two children."

JOURNALIST ÖZADAM HAD BROUGHT IT TO LIGHT

Journalist Levent Özadam had written that an academic working at EMU found no graduation record for Alemdar during an examination of the university archives. Özadam had brought the allegation that Alemdar's name could not be found in EMU records to the public agenda.