Student Society President-Elect Ousted Due to Conservative Activist Posts

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

The motion against George Abaraonye reached the required two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an statement from the society.

Disputed Comments

The controversy began after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on social media that seemed to welcome the death of Charlie Kirk, 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 posted in a WhatsApp chat with fellow students appearing to welcome the incident.

Vote Outcome

The vote of confidence was conducted over the weekend, with results revealed on this week.

Official notices showed that 1,228 ballots were cast in favor of removal, while 501 were opposed the motion.

The announcement confirmed that the president-elect was considered to have resigned in following the society's regulations.

Procedural Disputes

Voting operations were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the election official was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.

In a statement, Mr Abaraonye asserted that the count had been stopped because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of process errors".

His statement unequivocally denied that any person appointed by George had engaged in threatening or obstructive conduct.

Ongoing Dispute

The student stated that significant concerns had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he remained the elected leader.

His statement added that he was "grateful and honored to have the backing of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who voted to have 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 Friday, Mikey McCoy presented an open letter to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show broadcast.

The message accused the union of becoming a place where "presidents of the union openly applaud the killing of a ideological rival".

The statement indicated that if the student were to remain in post, supporters 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 the student's remarks after Kirk's death and confirmed that concerns submitted about him had been referred for official review.

The student leader had been one of several students to discuss with the activist at the union in May.