Student Society President-Elect Ousted Following Charlie Kirk Posts
The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after losing a no-confidence vote that came after his controversial online comments about Charlie Kirk.
The motion against the student leader achieved the necessary super-majority to remove him from office, according to an statement from the organization.
Disputed Comments
The controversy began after the student reportedly shared messages on social media that appeared to celebrate the death of the American conservative figure, who was fatally shot while addressing a college in Utah.
According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The student leader is also reported to have posted in a WhatsApp chat 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 indicated that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting removal, while 501 were against the motion.
The announcement stated that the future president was deemed to have stepped down in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.
Procedural Disputes
Proceedings were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the election official was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from several representatives.
In a response, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the vote tally had been halted because electoral officials believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of process errors".
His response unequivocally denied that any representative appointed by the student had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Ongoing Dispute
The student maintained that significant concerns had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he remained president-elect.
His comment added that George was "proud and thankful to have the backing of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".
Opponents have argued that any failure to remove him would "signal to the world that the Oxford Union has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Reactions
On recently, Kirk's former chief of staff presented an open letter to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.
The letter accused the union of becoming a place where "student leaders publicly celebrate 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 graced the union's chamber and urge them never again to lend their name".
The society had earlier criticized Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and stated that concerns filed against him had been referred for official review.
The president-elect had been one of multiple members to debate with the activist at the union in spring.
