Oxford Union Future Leader Removed Following Charlie Kirk Posts
The president-elect of the Oxford Union has been removed from his position after losing a no-confidence vote that followed his controversial social media posts about the conservative activist.
The vote against the student leader achieved the necessary two-thirds threshold to oust him from his position, according to an announcement from the organization.
Contentious Posts
The controversy began after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on online platforms that appeared to welcome the death of the American conservative figure, who was shot dead while speaking at 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 acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The president-elect is also reported to have written in a messaging group with other members seeming to welcome the incident.
Election Results
The no-confidence motion was conducted over the weekend, with outcomes announced on this week.
Official notices indicated that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of removal, while 501 were against the motion.
The notice confirmed that the future president was deemed to have stepped down in following the society's regulations.
Procedural Disputes
Voting operations were temporarily halted early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from several representatives.
In a statement, the student 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 statement unequivocally denied that any person acting for George had participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Ongoing Dispute
The president-elect maintained that significant concerns had been referred to the governing body and that he remained the elected leader.
His statement added that George was "grateful and honored to have the backing of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".
Critics have said that any decision to keep him would "signal to the world that the Oxford Union has prioritized politics over principles".
External Responses
On Friday, Mikey McCoy presented an open letter to the Oxford Union on a related program podcast.
The message criticized the union of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the assassination of a political opponent".
The communication indicated that if the student were to keep his position, supporters would "personally contact 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 the student's remarks after Kirk's death and stated that concerns submitted about him had been referred for official review.
The president-elect had been one of several students to discuss with the activist at the society in May.
