Oxford Union President-Elect Ousted Following Conservative Activist Posts
The president-elect of the Oxford Union has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that came after his controversial online comments about the conservative activist.
The motion against George Abaraonye achieved the necessary super-majority to remove him from office, according to an statement from the society.
Disputed Comments
The dispute erupted after the student reportedly shared messages on online platforms that appeared to welcome the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while speaking at a university in the United States.
According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The president-elect is also reported to have posted in a WhatsApp chat with other members appearing to express approval of the event.
Election Results
The no-confidence motion was conducted over the recent days, with results revealed on this week.
Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of removal, while 501 were against the motion.
The notice stated that the president-elect was considered to have resigned in following the Oxford Union's rules.
Procedural Disputes
Voting operations were informally suspended early on the previous day after the election official was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.
In a response, the student claimed that the vote tally had been halted because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of process errors".
His statement unequivocally denied that any representative appointed by the student had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Continuing Controversy
The student maintained that significant concerns had been submitted to the disciplinary committee and that he continued as the elected leader.
His comment added that George was "proud and thankful to have the support of significantly more than half of university members" who supported a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".
Critics have said that any decision to keep him would "signal to the world that the society has prioritized politics over principles".
External Responses
On Friday, Mikey McCoy read out an open letter to the Oxford Union on a related program podcast.
The letter criticized the society of becoming a institution where "student leaders publicly celebrate the assassination of a ideological rival".
The communication warned that if the student were to remain in post, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every American political speaker who has ever spoken at the society and urge them never again to lend their name".
The Oxford Union had earlier condemned Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and stated that complaints submitted about him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The president-elect had been one of multiple members to discuss with Kirk at the union in May.