Oxford Union President-Elect Ousted Due to Charlie Kirk Posts
The future president of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after losing a no-confidence vote that followed his disputed online comments about Charlie Kirk.
The vote against the student leader reached the required two-thirds threshold to oust him from his position, according to an announcement from the society.
Contentious Posts
The controversy began after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on online platforms that appeared to celebrate the killing of the American conservative figure, who was fatally shot while addressing a university in the United States.
According to sources, one Instagram post reportedly stated "Charlie Kirk got shot loool" - using an extended form of the phrase 'lol'.
The president-elect is also reported to have written in a messaging group with fellow students appearing to express approval of the event.
Election Results
The no-confidence motion took place over the recent days, with outcomes revealed on Tuesday.
Society announcements showed that 1,228 ballots were cast supporting no confidence, while just over five hundred were opposed the motion.
The announcement stated that the future president was deemed to have resigned in following the Oxford Union's rules.
Procedural Disputes
Voting operations were temporarily halted early on the previous day after the returning officer was reportedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.
In a statement, Mr Abaraonye asserted that the count had been halted because electoral officials 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.
Continuing Controversy
The president-elect maintained that extremely serious issues had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he continued as president-elect.
His statement added that he was "grateful and honored to have the backing of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who supported a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".
Opponents have said that any failure to remove him would "demonstrate internationally that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".
External Reactions
On Friday, Mikey McCoy read out an open letter to the society on a related program broadcast.
The letter criticized the society of becoming a place where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a political opponent".
The communication warned that if Mr Abaraonye were to keep his position, supporters would "directly reach out to every U.S. political figure who has ever spoken at the society and urge them never again to lend their name".
The society had previously criticized Mr Abaraonye's comments after the activist's killing and confirmed that complaints submitted about him had been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings.
The student leader had been one of multiple members to debate with Kirk at the society in May.