Student Society Future Leader Ousted Following Conservative Activist Posts
The future president of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after failing a vote of confidence that followed his controversial social media posts about Charlie Kirk.
The vote against George Abaraonye achieved the necessary super-majority to remove him from office, according to an statement from the society.
Contentious Posts
The controversy began after the student reportedly shared messages on social media that seemed to celebrate the killing of the American conservative figure, who was shot dead while addressing a college in the United States.
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 president-elect is also said to have posted in a messaging group with fellow students appearing to welcome the incident.
Vote Outcome
The vote of confidence was conducted over the recent days, with outcomes announced on Tuesday.
Society announcements indicated that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting removal, while just over five hundred were against the motion.
The announcement stated that the president-elect was deemed to have resigned in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.
Procedural Disputes
Proceedings were temporarily halted early on Monday after the returning officer was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.
In a response, the student asserted that the vote tally had been stopped because electoral officials believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of process errors".
His response categorically refuted that any person acting for the student had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Ongoing Dispute
The student stated that extremely serious issues had been submitted to the disciplinary committee and that he remained president-elect.
His comment added that he was "proud and thankful to have the backing of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents have said that any decision to keep him would "demonstrate internationally that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Responses
On Friday, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an open letter to the Oxford Union on a related program podcast.
The letter accused the society 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 keep his position, Kirk's allies would "directly reach out to every American political speaker who has ever spoken at the society and urge them never again to lend their name".
The Oxford Union had earlier criticized Mr Abaraonye's remarks after the activist's killing and stated that concerns submitted about him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The student leader had been one of several students to discuss with the activist at the union in spring.