🔗 Share this article

The future president of the Oxford Union has been ousted from office after losing a vote of confidence that came after his controversial social media posts about the conservative activist.

The motion against George Abaraonye reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the organization.

Contentious Posts

The dispute began after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on online platforms that seemed to welcome the death of the American conservative figure, who was shot dead while addressing a university 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 posted in a messaging group with other members seeming to express approval of the event.

Vote Outcome

The vote of confidence took place over the weekend, with outcomes revealed on this week.

Official notices indicated that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting removal, while 501 were against the motion.

The announcement stated that the president-elect was deemed to have stepped down in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.

Election Controversies

Proceedings were informally suspended early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.

In a response, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the count had been halted because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of procedural failures".

His statement unequivocally denied that any person appointed by the student had engaged in intimidating or disruptive behavior.

Ongoing Dispute

The student maintained that extremely serious issues had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he remained the elected leader.

His comment added that he was "grateful and honored to have the backing of significantly more than half of university members" who supported a "secure voting process and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".

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 public message to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.

The letter criticized the union of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the killing of a ideological rival".

The communication warned that if Mr Abaraonye were to remain in post, supporters would "directly reach out to every U.S. political figure who has ever spoken at the society and advise them against future participation".

The society had previously criticized Mr Abaraonye's remarks after the activist's killing and confirmed that concerns filed against him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.

The student leader had been one of multiple members to debate with the activist at the society in May.