Oxford Union Future Leader Removed Following Charlie Kirk Posts
The future president of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after losing a vote of confidence that came after his disputed online comments about Charlie Kirk.
The motion against the student leader reached the required two-thirds threshold to remove him from office, according to an statement from the society.
Disputed Comments
The controversy began after the student reportedly shared messages on social media that seemed to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while speaking at a college in Utah.
According to reports, one social media message reportedly read "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 seeming to express approval of the event.
Election Results
The vote of confidence was conducted over the weekend, with results revealed on Tuesday.
Society announcements showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting no confidence, while 501 were against the motion.
The announcement confirmed that the future president was deemed to have resigned in following the society's regulations.
Election Controversies
Voting operations were informally suspended early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.
In a response, Mr Abaraonye claimed that the vote tally had been halted because election administrators believed "no legitimate and true result could be reached as a result of procedural failures".
His response categorically refuted that any representative appointed by George had engaged in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Ongoing Dispute
The student stated that extremely serious issues had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he continued as president-elect.
His statement added that George was "proud and thankful to have the support of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who voted to have a "secure voting process and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents have said that any decision to keep him would "demonstrate internationally that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Reactions
On recently, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an public message to the society on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.
The message accused the society of becoming a place where "student leaders openly applaud the killing of a ideological rival".
The statement indicated that if the student were to remain in post, 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 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.