The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after losing a vote of confidence that followed his controversial social media posts about Charlie Kirk.
The vote against George Abaraonye reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to oust him from his position, according to an announcement from the society.
Disputed Comments
The dispute erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on social media that seemed to welcome the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while addressing a college in the United States.
According to sources, one social media message reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The president-elect is also said to have written in a WhatsApp chat with other members seeming to welcome the incident.
Vote Outcome
The no-confidence motion was conducted over the recent days, with outcomes announced on Tuesday.
Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of no confidence, while 501 were opposed 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 temporarily halted early on the previous day after the election official was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.
In a statement, Mr Abaraonye asserted that the count 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 participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Ongoing Dispute
The president-elect stated that extremely serious issues had been submitted to the disciplinary committee and that he continued as the elected leader.
His statement added that George was "grateful and honored to have the support of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who voted to have a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Critics have argued that any failure to remove him would "signal to the world that the Oxford Union has prioritized politics over principles".
External Reactions
On Friday, Mikey McCoy read out an open letter to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.
The message criticized the union of becoming a place where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the assassination of a political opponent".
The communication warned that if the student 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 Mr Abaraonye's comments after the activist's killing and confirmed that complaints filed against him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The president-elect had been one of multiple members to debate with Kirk at the union in May.
