Oxford Union President-Elect Removed Following Charlie Kirk Comments

Student society event
Charlie Kirk and George Abaraonye took part in a debate at the student society in May

The president-elect of the Oxford Union has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that came after his controversial social media posts about Charlie Kirk.

The vote against the student leader reached the required super-majority to remove him from office, according to an statement from the organization.

Contentious Posts

The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on social media that appeared to celebrate the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a university in Utah.

According to sources, one social media message reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the phrase 'lol'.

The student leader is also reported to have posted in a messaging group with fellow students seeming to express approval of the event.

Election Results

The vote of confidence was conducted over the recent days, with results announced on this week.

Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of no confidence, while 501 were against the motion.

The announcement stated that the future president was considered to have resigned in accordance with the society's regulations.

Society notice
The Oxford Union announced the outcome of the confidence motion on this week

Election Controversies

Proceedings were informally suspended early on the previous day after the election official was allegedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from several representatives.

In a statement, Mr Abaraonye asserted that the count had been stopped because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of process errors".

His statement categorically refuted that any person acting for the student had engaged in intimidating or disruptive behavior.

Ongoing Dispute

The president-elect maintained that significant concerns had been submitted to the governing body and that he continued as the elected leader.

His statement added that George was "grateful and honored to have the backing of significantly more than half of university members" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".

Critics have argued that any failure to remove him would "demonstrate internationally that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".

Conservative activist
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while addressing a university in September

External Responses

On recently, Mikey McCoy presented an public message to the society on a related program podcast.

The letter accused the union of becoming a place where "student leaders openly applaud the killing of a ideological rival".

The statement indicated that if Mr Abaraonye were to keep his position, supporters would "directly reach out to every American political speaker who has ever spoken at the society and urge them never again to lend their name".

The society had earlier criticized Mr Abaraonye's remarks after the activist's killing and confirmed that concerns filed against him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.

The president-elect had been one of multiple members to debate with the activist at the union in spring.

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