🔗 Share this article

The future president of the Oxford Union has been ousted from office after losing a no-confidence vote that came after his controversial online comments about the conservative activist.

The vote against George Abaraonye achieved the required super-majority to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the society.

Disputed Comments

The dispute erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on social media that seemed to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while addressing a college in the United States.

According to sources, one social media message reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.

The student leader is also reported to have posted in a WhatsApp chat with other members seeming to express approval of the event.

Election Results

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

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

The notice confirmed that the future president was deemed to have resigned in accordance with the society's regulations.

Procedural Disputes

Proceedings were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the returning officer was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.

In a statement, the student claimed that the vote tally had been stopped because election administrators 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.

Continuing Controversy

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

His comment 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 resist attempts to subvert democracy".

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

External Responses

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

The message criticized the society of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the killing of a political opponent".

The statement indicated that if Mr Abaraonye were to remain in post, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every American political speaker who has ever graced the union's chamber and advise them against future participation".

The Oxford Union had previously condemned Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and confirmed that complaints filed against him had been referred for official review.

The student leader had been one of several students to debate with Kirk at the union in May.