Oxford Union Future Leader Removed Following Conservative Activist Posts
The president-elect of the Oxford Union has been removed from his position after losing a no-confidence vote that followed his disputed social media posts about the conservative activist.
The vote against George Abaraonye reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to oust him from his position, according to an statement from the society.
Disputed Comments
The dispute began after the student reportedly posted messages on online platforms that seemed to celebrate the killing of the American conservative figure, who was fatally shot while speaking at a college in the United States.
According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the phrase 'lol'.
The student leader is also reported to have written in a WhatsApp chat with fellow students appearing to welcome the incident.
Election Results
The no-confidence motion was conducted over the weekend, with results announced on this week.
Society announcements indicated that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting removal, while just over five hundred were against the motion.
The notice stated that the president-elect was considered to have resigned in accordance with the society's regulations.
Election Controversies
Voting operations were informally suspended early on the previous day after the election official was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.
In a response, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the vote tally had been halted because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".
His response unequivocally denied that any representative appointed by the student had engaged in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Ongoing Dispute
The president-elect maintained that extremely serious issues 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 support of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who supported a "secure voting process and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents have argued 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 presented an open letter to the society on a related program podcast.
The letter criticized the union of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a ideological rival".
The statement warned that if Mr Abaraonye were to remain in post, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every U.S. political figure who has ever spoken at the society and urge them never again to lend their name".
The Oxford Union had previously criticized Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and stated that concerns filed against him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The student leader had been one of multiple members to debate with Kirk at the union in May.