Oxford Union President-Elect Removed Due to Charlie Kirk Posts
The future president of the prestigious debating society has been removed from his position after failing a vote of confidence that followed his disputed social media posts about Charlie Kirk.
The vote against the student leader achieved the necessary super-majority to remove him from office, according to an announcement from the society.
Contentious Posts
The controversy began after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on online platforms that seemed to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a college in Utah.
According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly read "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an elongated version of the acronym for 'laughing out loud'.
The president-elect is also reported to have written in a WhatsApp chat with fellow students seeming to express approval of the event.
Vote Outcome
The no-confidence motion took place over the recent days, with results announced on this week.
Society announcements showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast in favor of no confidence, while 501 were against the motion.
The announcement confirmed that the president-elect was deemed to have resigned in following the society's regulations.
Procedural Disputes
Voting operations were informally suspended early on Monday after the returning officer was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from several representatives.
In a statement, the student asserted that the vote tally had been halted because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".
His response categorically refuted that any person appointed by the student had engaged in threatening or obstructive conduct.
Ongoing Dispute
The student maintained that significant concerns had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he continued as the elected leader.
His comment added that he was "proud and thankful to have the support of significantly more than half of university members" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents have argued that any decision to keep 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 The Charlie Kirk Show podcast.
The letter criticized the union of becoming a institution where "presidents of the union openly applaud the killing of a political opponent".
The statement warned that if the student were to keep his position, supporters would "directly reach out to every U.S. political figure who has ever spoken at the society and advise them against future participation".
The Oxford Union had earlier condemned the student's remarks after Kirk's death and confirmed that complaints filed against him had been referred for official review.
The student leader had been one of several students to debate with the activist at the society in May.