Oxford Union President-Elect Removed Following Charlie Kirk Comments

Oxford Union debate
The activist and student leader took part in a discussion at the Oxford Union in May

The future president of the Oxford Union has been ousted from office after losing a no-confidence vote that followed his disputed social media posts about the conservative activist.

The motion against the student leader achieved the necessary super-majority to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the society.

Contentious Posts

The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on social media that appeared to welcome the death of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while speaking at a university in the United States.

According to reports, one Instagram post reportedly stated "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 fellow students seeming to welcome the incident.

Election Results

The no-confidence motion took place over the recent days, with results announced on Tuesday.

Society announcements showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of no confidence, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.

The announcement stated that the future president was deemed to have resigned in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.

Society notice
The Oxford Union shared the outcome of the no-confidence vote on Tuesday morning

Election Controversies

Voting operations were informally suspended early on Monday after the election official was allegedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.

In a response, the student claimed that the vote tally had been stopped because electoral officials believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of process errors".

His response unequivocally denied that any representative acting for George had engaged in threatening or obstructive conduct.

Ongoing Dispute

The president-elect stated that significant concerns had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he remained the elected leader.

His statement added that George was "proud and thankful to have the backing of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who voted to have 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 prioritized politics over principles".

Charlie Kirk speaking
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while addressing a college in September

External Responses

On recently, Mikey McCoy presented an open letter to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.

The letter accused the society of becoming a place where "student leaders publicly celebrate the assassination of a ideological rival".

The statement indicated that if the student were to keep his position, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every American political speaker who has ever graced the union's chamber and advise them against future participation".

The society had previously condemned the student's comments after the activist's killing and confirmed that complaints filed against him had been referred for official review.

The president-elect had been one of several students to debate with the activist at the society in May.

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