Oxford Union President-Elect Ousted Due to Conservative Activist Posts
The future president of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after failing a no-confidence vote that followed his disputed social media posts about the conservative activist.
The motion against George Abaraonye achieved the necessary two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the organization.
Contentious Posts
The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted 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 social media message reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The student leader is also reported to have posted in a WhatsApp chat with other members appearing to welcome the incident.
Election Results
The vote of confidence took place over the weekend, with results announced on Tuesday.
Society announcements showed that 1,228 ballots were cast in favor of no confidence, while 501 were against the motion.
The announcement confirmed that the future president was considered to have stepped down in accordance with the society's regulations.
Procedural Disputes
Proceedings were informally suspended early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.
In a statement, the student asserted that the vote tally had been stopped because electoral officials believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of process errors".
His statement unequivocally denied that any representative appointed by George had participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Ongoing Dispute
The president-elect stated that significant concerns had been referred to the governing body and that he remained president-elect.
His statement added that George was "proud and thankful to have the support of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".
Critics have argued that any decision to keep him would "demonstrate internationally that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Responses
On recently, Mikey McCoy presented an open letter to the Oxford Union on a related program podcast.
The letter accused the union of becoming a place where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the killing 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 advise them against future participation".
The society had earlier condemned Mr Abaraonye's remarks after the activist's killing and confirmed that complaints filed against him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The president-elect had been one of several students to discuss with Kirk at the union in May.
