🔗 Share this article

The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after losing a vote of confidence that followed his disputed social media posts about Charlie Kirk.

The motion against George Abaraonye achieved the required super-majority to remove him from office, according to an statement from the organization.

Contentious Posts

The controversy erupted after the student reportedly shared messages on online platforms that seemed to welcome the death of the American conservative figure, who was shot dead while speaking at a university in Utah.

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

The president-elect is also said to have written in a messaging group with other members seeming to express approval of the event.

Vote Outcome

The no-confidence motion took place over the weekend, with results announced on this week.

Society announcements indicated that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of no confidence, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.

The announcement confirmed that the future president was considered to have stepped down in following the society's regulations.

Election Controversies

Voting operations were temporarily halted early on Monday after the election official was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.

In a statement, the student asserted that the vote tally had been stopped because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".

His statement categorically refuted that any representative appointed by the student had engaged in intimidating or disruptive behavior.

Continuing Controversy

The president-elect maintained that significant concerns had been referred to the governing body and that he continued as the elected leader.

His statement added that George was "grateful and honored to have the backing of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".

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 recently, Kirk's former chief of staff presented an public message to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.

The letter accused the society of becoming a place where "student leaders openly applaud the killing of a political opponent".

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

The society had earlier condemned Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and stated that concerns submitted about him had been referred for official review.

The student leader had been one of multiple members to debate with Kirk at the union in spring.