Oxford Union President-Elect Ousted Due to Charlie Kirk Comments
The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that followed his controversial social media posts about the conservative activist.
The vote against George Abaraonye achieved the required super-majority to oust him from his position, according to an announcement from the organization.
Contentious Posts
The dispute erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on social media that appeared to celebrate the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while speaking at a university in Utah.
According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.
The president-elect is also said to have written in a WhatsApp chat with other members seeming to express approval of the event.
Election Results
The no-confidence motion took place over the recent days, with outcomes revealed on Tuesday.
Society announcements indicated that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting no confidence, while 501 were against the motion.
The notice stated that the president-elect was deemed to have resigned in accordance with the society's regulations.
Procedural Disputes
Proceedings were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the returning officer was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.
In a response, Mr Abaraonye asserted 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 statement categorically refuted that any representative appointed by George had participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Continuing Controversy
The student stated that significant concerns had been submitted to the governing body 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 students at Oxford" who voted to have a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".
Critics have argued that any failure to remove him would "signal to the world that the society has prioritized politics over principles".
External Reactions
On Friday, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an open letter to the Oxford Union on a related program broadcast.
The message accused the union of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the assassination of a ideological rival".
The statement warned that if Mr Abaraonye were to keep his position, supporters 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 society had earlier criticized the student's comments after the activist's killing and stated that complaints 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 society in spring.