🔗 Share this article

The future president of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after losing a no-confidence vote that came after his disputed online comments about the conservative activist.

The motion against the student leader reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to oust him from his position, according to an statement from the organization.

Disputed Comments

The dispute erupted after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on social media that appeared to welcome the killing of the American conservative figure, who was fatally shot while speaking at a university in Utah.

According to reports, one Instagram post reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.

The student leader is also said to have written in a messaging group with fellow students appearing to express approval of the event.

Election Results

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

Society announcements indicated that 1,228 ballots were cast in favor of no confidence, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.

The notice stated that the president-elect was deemed to have stepped down in accordance with the society's regulations.

Election Controversies

Voting operations were informally suspended early on the previous day after the election official was allegedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from several representatives.

In a statement, Mr Abaraonye asserted that the count had been halted 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 the student had engaged in threatening or obstructive conduct.

Ongoing Dispute

The president-elect maintained that significant concerns had been submitted to the governing body and that he continued as president-elect.

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

Critics have said that any failure to remove him would "demonstrate internationally that the society has prioritized politics over principles".

External Responses

On recently, Mikey McCoy read out an public message to the Oxford Union on a related program broadcast.

The message accused the society of becoming a institution where "student leaders publicly celebrate the killing of a ideological rival".

The statement indicated that if the student were to keep his position, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every U.S. political figure who has ever spoken at the society and advise them against future participation".

The Oxford Union had previously condemned the student's comments after the activist's killing and stated 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 society in May.