EMU Governance Fight Escalates Over Blocked Staff Email
The board chairman the government wants removed says his email explaining the crisis to university staff never went out.
Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU/DAÜ) is now in a public dispute over who runs its Foundation Board of Directors (VYK), and over who controls internal communication.
Şemi Bora, the VYK chairman the government wants removed, tried to send a mass email to university staff on Friday, September 19, laying out his side of the crisis. He says it never went out because the university's bulk-email system was blocked. He confirmed to Yenidüzen: "Rektörlük yaptıysa kabul edilemez" - unacceptable if the Rectorate did it.
The academic union DAÜ-SEN says it heard similar reports and plans to test the mass-messaging system itself on Monday. Union head Mustafa Rıza said the union could call industrial action if the block is confirmed. Rector Hasan Kılıç told Yenidüzen he had not heard about it and would look into it.
What led here
The Council of Ministers published a decision in the Official Gazette on September 16, 2026, proposing that the president remove Bora from the VYK chair over problems with "coordination and cooperation," and replace him with current board member Anıl İmre. The same decision proposed swapping member Turan Büyükyılmaz for Hasan Esen, and filling İmre's vacated seat with Hulus Hulusioğlu.
In his blocked message, Bora says three VYK meetings, on July 29, August 12 and August 28, 2026, failed to reach quorum not by accident but because certain members deliberately walked out to block votes on his requests. He names those two members as İmre and Oflaz, and says he had formally asked the Presidency and the Ministry of National Education to remove them.
President Tufan Erhürman has pushed back on the removal proposal. He noted his office had already sent VYK appointment decisions back to government three times over the past seven months, and said future proposals will be judged "on merit, not just on legality," a sign he may not sign off on the current plan.
What it means for students
None of this changes teaching, tuition, or admissions at EMU today. But the university's top governance body has failed to hold a working meeting for two months, and the current chairman and the Rectorate cannot agree on basic staff communication. Anyone weighing EMU against other options should watch how this resolves, especially whether it touches budget or accreditation decisions. For a side-by-side view of the accredited universities in North Cyprus, or independent data on TRNC institutions, start there before drawing conclusions.
Sources
Compiled by the UniNorth Editorial Team from the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us.