🔗 Share this article

The future president of the Oxford Union has been removed from his position after failing a vote of confidence that came after his controversial social media posts about the conservative activist.

The motion against George Abaraonye reached the required super-majority to oust him from his position, according to an announcement from the society.

Contentious Posts

The dispute erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on social media that appeared to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while addressing a college in the United States.

According to reports, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the phrase 'lol'.

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

Vote Outcome

The vote of confidence was conducted over the weekend, with results announced on Tuesday.

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

The notice stated that the future president was deemed to have resigned in accordance with the society's regulations.

Election Controversies

Voting operations were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the returning officer was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.

In a statement, the student claimed that the count had been stopped because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of procedural failures".

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

Continuing Controversy

The president-elect maintained that extremely serious issues had been referred to the governing body and that he continued as president-elect.

His comment added that he was "grateful and honored to have the backing of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who voted to have a "secure voting process and resist attempts to subvert democracy".

Critics have said that any decision to keep him would "demonstrate internationally that the Oxford Union has prioritized politics over principles".

External Responses

On Friday, Kirk's former chief of staff presented an open letter to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.

The letter criticized the society of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a ideological rival".

The statement indicated that if the student were to keep his position, 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 criticized the student's comments after Kirk's death and confirmed that concerns submitted about him had been referred for official review.

The president-elect had been one of several students to debate with Kirk at the union in spring.