Student Society President-Elect Ousted Following Charlie Kirk Comments

Student society event
Charlie Kirk and George Abaraonye took part in a debate at the student society in May

The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after failing a no-confidence vote that came after his controversial online comments about the conservative activist.

The motion against the student leader achieved the required two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an statement from the society.

Contentious Posts

The dispute erupted after the student reportedly shared messages on social media that seemed to celebrate the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a college in Utah.

According to sources, one social media message reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.

The student leader is also reported to have written in a messaging group with fellow students seeming to express approval of the event.

Vote Outcome

The vote of confidence took place over the recent days, with outcomes revealed on Tuesday.

Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting no confidence, while just over five hundred were against the motion.

The announcement confirmed that the future president was deemed to have stepped down in following the Oxford Union's rules.

Oxford Union announcement
The Oxford Union shared the result of the no-confidence vote on Tuesday morning

Election Controversies

Voting operations were temporarily halted early on Monday after the returning officer was allegedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from multiple individuals.

In a statement, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the vote tally had been stopped because electoral officials believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of process errors".

His response categorically refuted that any person acting for George had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.

Ongoing Dispute

The president-elect maintained that significant concerns had been submitted to the disciplinary committee and that he remained president-elect.

His statement added that he was "proud and thankful to have the backing of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who voted to have a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".

Critics have said that any failure to remove him would "signal to the world that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".

Charlie Kirk speaking
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while addressing a college in September

External Reactions

On Friday, Mikey McCoy presented an public message to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.

The letter accused the union of becoming a place where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the assassination of a ideological rival".

The statement indicated that if Mr Abaraonye were to keep his position, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every American political speaker who has ever graced the union's chamber and advise them against future participation".

The society had earlier criticized Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and confirmed that concerns filed against him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.

The president-elect had been one of several students to discuss with Kirk at the society in May.

Veronica Stevens
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