🔗 Share this article

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 the conservative activist.

The motion against the student leader reached the required two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an statement from the organization.

Contentious Posts

The dispute erupted after the student reportedly shared messages on social media that seemed to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a university 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 posted in a messaging group with fellow students seeming to express approval of the event.

Vote Outcome

The no-confidence motion was conducted over the weekend, with outcomes revealed on this week.

Official notices showed that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting removal, while 501 were against the motion.

The announcement confirmed that the future president was considered to have stepped down in accordance with the Oxford Union's rules.

Procedural Disputes

Voting operations were temporarily halted early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from several representatives.

In a response, Mr Abaraonye 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 unequivocally denied that any person acting for George had participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.

Continuing Controversy

The student stated that extremely serious issues had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he continued as the elected leader.

His statement added that he was "grateful and honored to have the support of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford" who supported a "secure voting process and oppose efforts to undermine the electoral process".

Critics have argued that any decision to keep him would "signal to the world that the society has prioritized politics over principles".

External Reactions

On recently, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an public message to the Oxford Union on a related program podcast.

The message accused the union of becoming a place where "student leaders publicly celebrate the assassination of a political opponent".

The communication warned that if the student were to keep his position, supporters 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 previously condemned Mr Abaraonye's comments 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 discuss with the activist at the union in May.