🔗 Share this article

The future president of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after losing a no-confidence vote that followed his controversial online comments about Charlie Kirk.

The vote against George Abaraonye achieved the necessary super-majority to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the organization.

Disputed Comments

The controversy erupted after the student reportedly posted messages on social media that appeared to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while speaking at a college in the United States.

According to sources, one social media message reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the phrase 'lol'.

The student leader is also reported to have posted in a messaging group with other members seeming to welcome the incident.

Vote Outcome

The vote of confidence was conducted over the recent days, with outcomes revealed on Tuesday.

Society announcements showed that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting no confidence, while 501 were against the motion.

The announcement stated that the future president was considered to have resigned in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.

Procedural Disputes

Proceedings were informally suspended early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.

In a response, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the count had been halted because electoral officials believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".

His statement unequivocally denied that any representative appointed by George had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.

Ongoing Dispute

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 well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".

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

External Responses

On recently, Mikey McCoy presented an public message to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.

The letter criticized the society of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the assassination of a political opponent".

The statement warned that if the student were to remain in post, Kirk's allies would "directly reach out to every U.S. political figure who has ever graced the union's chamber and urge them never again to lend their name".

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

The student leader had been one of several students to debate with Kirk at the society in May.