Student Society Future Leader Removed Following Conservative Activist Comments
The president-elect of the Oxford Union has been ousted from office after failing a vote of confidence that came after his disputed social media posts about the conservative activist.
The vote against the student leader reached the necessary super-majority to oust him from his position, according to an statement from the society.
Disputed Comments
The controversy erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly shared messages on online platforms that seemed to welcome the killing of the American conservative figure, who was shot dead while addressing a college in the United States.
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 student leader is also reported 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 recent days, with outcomes announced on this week.
Official notices showed that 1,228 ballots were cast in favor of removal, while just over five hundred were against the motion.
The notice stated that the future president was considered to have resigned in following the society's regulations.
Election Controversies
Voting operations were informally suspended early on the previous day after the election official was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.
In a statement, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the count 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 representative appointed by George had engaged in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Ongoing Dispute
The student maintained that extremely serious issues had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he remained the elected leader.
His statement added that George was "grateful and honored to have the support of significantly more than half of university members" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents 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 recently, Mikey McCoy presented an public message to the Oxford Union on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.
The message accused the society of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the killing of a ideological rival".
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 urge them never again to lend their name".
The society had earlier criticized the student's remarks after the activist's killing and stated that complaints filed against him had been referred for official review.
The student leader had been one of several students to debate with Kirk at the union in May.