🔗 Share this article

The president-elect of the Oxford Union has been removed from his position after failing a vote of confidence that followed 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 announcement from the organization.

Disputed Comments

The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on online platforms that seemed to celebrate the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a university in the United States.

According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.

The president-elect is also said to have posted in a WhatsApp chat with fellow students appearing to express approval of the event.

Election Results

The vote of confidence took place over the recent days, with results announced on Tuesday.

Society announcements showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of removal, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.

The notice stated that the president-elect was considered to have resigned in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.

Election Controversies

Proceedings were informally suspended early on Monday after the election official was allegedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.

In a statement, Mr Abaraonye asserted that the vote tally had been halted because electoral officials believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of process errors".

His response unequivocally denied that any representative acting for George had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.

Continuing Controversy

The president-elect maintained that extremely serious issues had been referred to the governing body and that he remained the elected leader.

His comment added that he was "proud and thankful to have the support of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" 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 Reactions

On recently, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an public message to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.

The message accused the society of becoming a place where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a political opponent".

The communication warned that if Mr Abaraonye were to remain in post, Kirk's allies would "directly reach out to every American political speaker who has ever spoken at the society and advise them against future participation".

The society had earlier condemned the student's remarks after the activist's killing and confirmed that complaints submitted about him had been referred for official review.

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