Board submits controversial list to Turkish president in rector elections

The Higher Education Board (YOK) submitted its short-list of three candidates from the six that gained the highest support in voting among academic staff at Istanbul University, to Turkish President Abdullah Gul for final selection.Â

The list recommended Yunus Soylet, the candidate who had received the second highest number of academic votes.

The announcement of candidates is expected to incite another debate in the country; as Soylet, who heads the board's list, is known for his close connections to the government. Soylet is also the family doctor of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, and was elected by Gul as a YOK member in the past.

 

The candidate selected with the highest number of academic votes, Ali Akyuz, was placed second in the YOK list.

 

Melih Boydak retained his position as the third selection for rector in the list submitted to the president.

 

 Fierce debates erupted in Turkey in August when Gul appointed new rectors to 23 universities around the country, vetoing the university heads who opposed lifting the headscarf ban in universities, although some of them won the voting among academic staff.

 

His move sparked fierce reactions from academics, with 36 of them, including deans, resigning from three universities.