Home > Current Affairs News > CHP's Günaydın reacts sharply to 'diploma will be cancelled' reports: 'The fastest hitmen'

CHP's Günaydın reacts sharply to 'diploma will be cancelled' reports: 'The fastest hitmen'

CHP Group Deputy Chairman Gökhan Günaydın responded to allegations regarding İmamoğlu's diploma in a post on his social media account.

12punto

Günaydın reacted sharply to claims that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma would be cancelled. Günaydın stated that the reports appearing in some media outlets regarding the cancellation of İmamoğlu's diploma are part of a political operation.

In his statement, Günaydın shared the following information regarding İmamoğlu's educational process:

"In the 1988-1989 academic years, he completed his preparatory and first-year education in the English Business Administration department at Girne American University. In 1990, he met the conditions specified in the lateral transfer announcement of Istanbul University and transferred laterally along with 51 other people. He completed his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year education at the Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration and graduated in 1994. Following an application made to CİMER in 2020, Istanbul University announced that there was no irregularity in the transfer and graduation process."

Linking the resurgence of the issue in 2024 to the election process, Günaydın said, "The attempts to cancel İmamoğlu's diploma are a dirty game aimed at the Presidential election process."

Claiming that the Istanbul University Senate could not take such a decision, Günaydın said, "Those who realize this are trying to force a decision through the board of directors by making the Faculty Dean resign."

"WE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS LAWLESSNESS"

Stating that the process is being closely followed by national and international public opinion, Günaydın emphasized that they will continue the legal struggle and stand against this attempt. Günaydın said, "We will not allow this blatant lawlessness, the instrumentalization of the judiciary, or the fouling of İmamoğlu, who actually defeated Erdoğan—not the candidates put against him three times in the Istanbul elections."

GÜNAYDIN INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS IN HIS SOCIAL MEDIA POST:

The fastest hitmen of the pro-government press have entered a race to fill the tabloid press with articles claiming that İmamoğlu's diploma will be cancelled at the beginning of next week.

Indeed, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is also stepping outside its defined duties, writing consecutive letters to the Istanbul University rectorate, effectively demanding the cancellation of the diploma.

In the face of this blatant disregard for the law, I felt the need to explain the matter to the public in the clearest way possible;

1- Ekrem İmamoğlu studied in the English Business Administration department at Girne American University in 1988 and 1989, completing his preparatory and 1st-year education.

2- In the announcement made by Istanbul University in 1990, the conditions for lateral transfer were determined as follows: having passed all courses, having a grade point average of at least 60, and applying on time. (The primary and exclusive legislation in force in 1990 regulating lateral transfer consists of the Regulation on the Principles of Lateral Transfer at the Associate and Undergraduate Level Between Higher Education Institutions, published in the Official Gazette dated October 21, 1982, and numbered 17845).

3- The University registered that 51 people, including İmamoğlu, met these conditions through a Commission Decision and a Board of Directors Decision, and the lateral transfers of these individuals were carried out.

4- After the lateral transfer, İmamoğlu, who completed his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year education in the English Business Administration department of the Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration, became entitled to receive a diploma upon graduation, and his diploma was issued in 1994.

5- 25 years after his graduation, upon an application made to CİMER in 2020 alleging that the lateral transfer was unlawful, the Dean's Office of the Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration examined the situation and stated to the Istanbul University rectorate that there was no aspect of the transfer and graduation that was contrary to the legislation.

6- This time, 30 years after graduation, an application made to CİMER in September 2024 reached the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and was directed from there to the Higher Education Council (YÖK).

7- In the report prepared by the YÖK Supervisory Board upon the request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, an arbitrary conclusion was included that ignores the principles of legal security and the non-retroactivity of rules, such as that İmamoğlu met the lateral transfer criteria but the transfer was irregular because Girne American University was recognized in 1993.

8- Recognition was only made possible for the first time with the Regulation on the Principles of Transfer, Double Major, Minor, and Inter-Institutional Credit Transfer Between Associate and Undergraduate Programs in Higher Education Institutions, published in the Official Gazette dated 24/04/2010 and numbered 27561. As can be seen, the YÖK Report contains a blatant distortion by seeking legislation that came into force in 2010 in the year 1990.

9- Furthermore, it has been shared with the press by İmamoğlu's lawyers, along with documents, that YÖK granted equivalence to individuals who graduated from Girne American University in 1991 and 1992.

AFTER THESE CONCRETE AND MATERIAL FACTS, LET US STATE CLEARLY;

1- Opening the diploma of İmamoğlu, who graduated more than 30 years ago, to debate today and attempting to cancel it is a dirty game aimed at the Presidential election process.

2- It is the administration that determined and announced the conditions for lateral transfer. İmamoğlu, who was 17 at the time, exercised his right to lateral transfer because he met the conditions. The fact that only İmamoğlu is being targeted, and not the 51 other people who transferred with him, clearly reveals the purpose of this dirty game.

3- Those who realized that they could not pass this lawlessness through a decision to be taken by the 56-member Istanbul University Senate via secret ballot are in a rush to commit the lawlessness of forcing this decision through the Faculty Board of Directors by making the Dean of the Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration resign.

The entire country and the international public are following the process closely.

We will not allow this blatant lawlessness, the instrumentalization of the judiciary, or the fouling of İmamoğlu, who actually defeated Erdoğan—not the candidates put against him three times in the Istanbul elections.