Student Society President-Elect Removed Due to Conservative Activist Posts
The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that came after his controversial social media posts about the conservative activist.
The motion against George Abaraonye achieved the necessary two-thirds threshold to oust him from his position, according to an statement from the society.
Contentious Posts
The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on online platforms that appeared to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a university in the United States.
According to reports, one social media message reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The president-elect is also reported to have written in a WhatsApp chat with fellow students appearing to welcome the incident.
Election Results
The vote of confidence took place over the weekend, with outcomes announced on this week.
Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of no confidence, while just over five hundred were against the motion.
The announcement stated that the future president was deemed to have resigned in following the society's regulations.
Procedural Disputes
Voting operations were temporarily halted early on Monday after the election official was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.
In a response, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the vote tally had been stopped because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".
His response categorically refuted that any person appointed by George had participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Continuing Controversy
The president-elect maintained that extremely serious issues had been referred to the governing body and that he remained the elected leader.
His statement added that he was "grateful and honored to have the backing of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents have argued that any decision to keep him would "demonstrate internationally that the Oxford Union has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Reactions
On Friday, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an public message to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.
The message criticized the union of becoming a institution where "student leaders openly applaud the assassination of a ideological rival".
The statement warned that if the student were to remain in post, 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 Oxford Union had previously condemned the student's comments after Kirk's death and stated that complaints submitted about him had been referred for official review.
The student leader had been one of multiple members to debate with Kirk at the union in May.
