Student Society President-Elect Removed Following Conservative Activist Posts
The president-elect of the Oxford Union has been removed from his position after losing a no-confidence vote that followed his disputed online comments about the conservative activist.
The motion against the student leader reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the society.
Contentious Posts
The controversy began after the student reportedly posted messages on social media that appeared to welcome the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while speaking at a college in the United States.
According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.
The president-elect is also reported to have written in a WhatsApp chat with other members appearing to express approval of the event.
Vote Outcome
The vote of confidence was conducted over the recent days, with results announced on this week.
Society announcements showed that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting no confidence, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.
The announcement stated that the president-elect was deemed to have resigned in accordance with the society's regulations.
Procedural Disputes
Proceedings were temporarily halted early on Monday after the returning officer was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.
In a response, the student asserted that the vote tally had been halted because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of process errors".
His statement categorically refuted that any person appointed by George had engaged in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Ongoing Dispute
The president-elect stated that extremely serious issues had been submitted to the governing body and that he continued as the elected leader.
His statement added that he was "grateful and honored to have the support of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who voted to have a "secure voting process and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".
Critics have said that any failure to remove him would "signal to the world that the Oxford Union has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Reactions
On Friday, Mikey McCoy read out an open letter to the Oxford Union on a related program broadcast.
The message criticized the society of becoming a place where "student leaders publicly celebrate the killing of a ideological rival".
The statement warned that if Mr Abaraonye were to keep his position, supporters 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 society had earlier criticized Mr Abaraonye's comments after the activist's killing and confirmed that concerns submitted about him had been referred for official review.
The student leader had been one of multiple members to discuss with Kirk at the society in May.