Oxford Union President-Elect Removed Due to Charlie Kirk Posts
The president-elect 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 vote against the student leader achieved the required super-majority to oust him from his position, according to an statement from the society.
Contentious Posts
The controversy began after the student reportedly shared messages on online platforms that seemed to welcome the death of Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while addressing a college in the United States.
According to reports, one social media message reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The president-elect is also said to have posted in a messaging group with other members seeming to welcome the incident.
Election Results
The vote of confidence was conducted over the weekend, with results revealed on this week.
Society announcements showed that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting no confidence, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.
The notice confirmed that the future president was considered to have resigned in following the society's regulations.
Procedural Disputes
Voting operations were informally suspended early on Monday after the election official was reportedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility" from several representatives.
In a response, the student asserted that the count had been stopped because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of process errors".
His response unequivocally denied that any representative appointed by the student had participated in intimidating or disruptive behavior.
Continuing Controversy
The student stated that significant concerns had been submitted to the governing body and that he remained the elected leader.
His comment added that George was "grateful and honored to have the backing of well in excess of a majority of university members" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Critics have argued that any failure to remove him would "demonstrate internationally that the Oxford Union has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Responses
On Friday, Mikey McCoy presented an open letter to the society on a related program broadcast.
The message criticized the society of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union publicly celebrate the assassination of a political opponent".
The communication warned that if Mr Abaraonye were to keep his position, Kirk's allies would "personally contact every American political speaker who has ever spoken at the society and advise them against future participation".
The Oxford Union had previously criticized Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and confirmed that concerns submitted about him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The student leader had been one of multiple members to debate with the activist at the union in May.
