🔗 Share this article

The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that followed his disputed online comments about the conservative activist.

The vote against George Abaraonye reached the necessary super-majority to oust him from his position, according to an announcement from the society.

Contentious Posts

The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on online platforms that seemed to celebrate the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while addressing a college in Utah.

According to reports, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.

The student leader is also said to have written in a messaging group with other members seeming to welcome the incident.

Election Results

The vote of confidence was conducted over the recent days, with outcomes announced on Tuesday.

Society announcements showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting removal, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.

The notice stated that the future president was deemed to have stepped down in following the Oxford Union's rules.

Election Controversies

Proceedings were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the returning officer was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.

In a statement, the student asserted that the count had been halted because electoral officials believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".

His statement unequivocally denied that any representative acting for George had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.

Ongoing Dispute

The president-elect maintained that significant concerns had been submitted to the governing body and that he remained the elected leader.

His comment added that he was "grateful and honored to have the support of significantly more than half of university members" who supported a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".

Critics have argued that any failure to remove him would "demonstrate internationally that the Oxford Union has chosen ideology over integrity".

External Responses

On recently, Mikey McCoy read out an public message to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.

The message accused the union of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a political opponent".

The statement warned that if the student were to remain in post, supporters would "directly reach out to every American political speaker who has ever spoken at the society and advise them against future participation".

The Oxford Union had earlier condemned the student's remarks after the activist's killing and stated that concerns submitted about him had been referred for official review.

The president-elect had been one of several students to discuss with Kirk at the union in spring.