Oxford Union Future Leader Removed Due to Charlie Kirk Comments
The future president of the Oxford Union has been removed from his position after losing a no-confidence vote that came after his disputed social media posts about the conservative activist.
The motion against George Abaraonye achieved the necessary two-thirds threshold to oust him from his position, according to an announcement from the organization.
Disputed Comments
The dispute erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on social media that appeared to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while addressing a university in the United States.
According to reports, one Instagram post 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 appearing to express approval of the event.
Election Results
The no-confidence motion took place over the recent days, with outcomes announced on this week.
Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting removal, while just over five hundred were against the motion.
The notice stated that the president-elect was deemed to have resigned in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.
Procedural Disputes
Proceedings were informally suspended early on the previous day after the returning officer was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.
In a response, the student claimed that the vote tally had been stopped because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".
His response categorically refuted that any person appointed by the student had engaged in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Continuing Controversy
The student stated that extremely serious issues had been referred to the governing body and that he remained the elected leader.
His statement added that he was "proud and thankful to have the backing of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who supported a "secure voting process 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 Reactions
On Friday, Mikey McCoy read out an open letter to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.
The letter accused the society of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a political opponent".
The communication indicated that if the student were to keep his position, Kirk's allies would "directly reach out to every U.S. political figure who has ever spoken at the society and urge them never again to lend their name".
The Oxford Union had previously condemned the student's comments after Kirk's death and stated that concerns filed against him had been referred for official review.
The president-elect had been one of several students to discuss with Kirk at the union in spring.