Oxford Union Future Leader Ousted Following Charlie Kirk Comments
The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after failing a no-confidence vote that came after his disputed online comments about the conservative activist.
The vote against George Abaraonye reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an statement from the organization.
Disputed Comments
The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on social media that seemed to welcome the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a college in Utah.
According to reports, one social media message reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The president-elect is also said to have posted in a messaging group with other members appearing to express approval of the event.
Vote Outcome
The no-confidence motion was conducted over the weekend, with results announced on this week.
Official notices indicated that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting removal, while just over five hundred 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 "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.
In a response, the student claimed that the count had been stopped because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of process errors".
His statement categorically refuted that any representative appointed by the student had participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Ongoing Dispute
The student stated that significant concerns had been referred to the governing body and that he continued as the elected leader.
His comment added that George was "proud and thankful to have the backing of significantly more than half 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 "signal to the world that the Oxford Union has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Responses
On recently, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an open letter to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.
The letter criticized the society of becoming a place where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the assassination of a political opponent".
The communication warned that if the student were to keep his position, supporters would "directly reach out to every American political speaker who has ever graced the union's chamber and urge them never again to lend their name".
The society had previously condemned Mr Abaraonye's comments after the activist's killing and stated that concerns filed against him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The student leader had been one of multiple members to debate with Kirk at the union in spring.