🔗 Share this article

The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after failing a no-confidence vote that came after his controversial social media posts about the conservative activist.

The motion against George Abaraonye achieved the required two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the organization.

Disputed Comments

The dispute erupted after the student reportedly shared messages on social media that appeared to welcome the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while addressing a university in Utah.

According to reports, one social media message reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.

The president-elect is also said to have posted in a messaging group with other members seeming to welcome the incident.

Vote Outcome

The vote of confidence was conducted over the weekend, with results announced on Tuesday.

Official notices indicated that 1,228 ballots were cast in favor of no confidence, while just over five hundred were against the motion.

The notice confirmed that the president-elect was considered to have stepped down in following the society's regulations.

Election Controversies

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

In a response, the student asserted that the count had been stopped because electoral officials believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of process errors".

His response unequivocally denied that any person acting for the student had engaged in threatening or obstructive conduct.

Ongoing Dispute

The student maintained that significant concerns had been referred to the governing body and that he remained president-elect.

His statement added that he was "grateful and honored to have the support of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who voted to have a "secure voting process and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".

Critics have said that any failure to remove him would "signal to the world that the Oxford Union has chosen ideology over integrity".

External Responses

On Friday, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an public message to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.

The message accused the union of becoming a institution 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, supporters would "personally contact every U.S. political figure who has ever graced the union's chamber and advise them against future participation".

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

The president-elect had been one of multiple members to debate with the activist at the union in May.