Oxford Union Future Leader Removed Following Charlie Kirk Posts
The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that came after his disputed online comments about Charlie Kirk.
The vote against the student leader reached the required two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the society.
Contentious Posts
The dispute erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on online platforms that seemed to celebrate the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while addressing a college in the United States.
According to sources, one social media message reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.
The president-elect is also said to have written in a messaging group with fellow students appearing to express approval of the event.
Vote Outcome
The no-confidence motion took place over the weekend, with results revealed on Tuesday.
Official notices indicated that 1,228 ballots were cast in favor of removal, while 501 were opposed the motion.
The announcement confirmed that the future president was deemed to have resigned in following the Oxford Union's rules.
Election Controversies
Voting operations were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the election official was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.
In a statement, the student claimed that the count had been stopped because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of process errors".
His response unequivocally denied that any person appointed by the student had engaged in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Continuing Controversy
The student maintained that extremely serious issues had been submitted to the disciplinary committee and that he continued as the elected leader.
His comment added that George was "grateful and honored to have the backing of well in excess of a majority of university members" who supported a "secure voting process and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Critics have said that any decision to keep him would "signal to the world that the society has prioritized politics over principles".
External Responses
On Friday, Mikey McCoy presented an open letter to the society on a related program podcast.
The letter accused the union of becoming a place where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a ideological rival".
The communication indicated that if the student were to keep his position, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every American political speaker who has ever spoken at the society and advise them against future participation".
The Oxford Union had earlier condemned Mr Abaraonye's comments after the activist's killing and stated that concerns filed against him had been referred for official review.
The president-elect had been one of several students to debate with Kirk at the society in May.
