Oxford Union Future Leader Removed Following Conservative Activist Posts
The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that followed his controversial online comments about Charlie Kirk.
The vote against George Abaraonye achieved 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 posted messages on social media that seemed to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while addressing a college in the United States.
According to reports, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.
The president-elect is also reported to have written in a WhatsApp chat with other members seeming to welcome the incident.
Vote Outcome
The vote of confidence took place over the weekend, with results announced on this week.
Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of removal, while 501 were opposed the motion.
The announcement confirmed that the future president was considered to have resigned in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.
Election Controversies
Voting operations were temporarily halted early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from several representatives.
In a statement, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the count had been halted because electoral officials 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 participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Continuing Controversy
The student stated that significant concerns had been submitted to the disciplinary committee and that he remained the elected leader.
His comment added that George was "grateful and honored to have the support of well in excess of a majority of university members" who voted to have a "secure voting process and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents have said that any decision to keep him would "signal to the world that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Reactions
On Friday, Mikey McCoy presented an public message to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.
The letter criticized the society of becoming a place where "presidents of the union openly applaud the killing of a ideological rival".
The statement indicated that if Mr Abaraonye were to remain in post, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every U.S. political figure who has ever graced the union's chamber and urge them never again to lend their name".
The Oxford Union had earlier criticized the student's remarks after the activist's killing and stated that complaints filed against him had been referred for official review.
The student leader had been one of multiple members to discuss with the activist at the society in spring.
