🔗 Share this article

The president-elect of the prestigious debating society has been ousted from office after losing a no-confidence vote that followed his disputed social media posts about the conservative activist.

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

Contentious Posts

The controversy began after Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted messages on online platforms that seemed to welcome the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a college in Utah.

According to sources, one social media message 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 messaging group with other members appearing to welcome the incident.

Vote Outcome

The vote of confidence took place over the recent days, with outcomes revealed on this week.

Official notices showed that over twelve hundred votes were cast supporting removal, while 501 were against the motion.

The notice stated that the president-elect was considered to have resigned in following the society's regulations.

Procedural Disputes

Voting operations were temporarily halted early on Monday after the returning officer was allegedly subjected to "interference, threats, and inappropriate behavior" from multiple individuals.

In a response, Mr Abaraonye asserted that the count had been stopped because election administrators believed "no valid outcome could be reached as a result of procedural failures".

His statement categorically refuted that any representative acting for the student had participated in threatening or obstructive conduct.

Ongoing Dispute

The president-elect maintained that significant concerns had been referred to the disciplinary committee and that he remained the elected leader.

His comment added that he was "proud and thankful to have the support of significantly more than half of students at Oxford" who voted to have a "safe election and resist attempts to subvert democracy".

Critics have argued that any decision to keep him would "signal to the world that the society has chosen ideology over integrity".

External Responses

On recently, Kirk's former chief of staff read out an open letter to the society on a related program broadcast.

The letter criticized the union of becoming a place where "presidents of the union openly applaud the assassination of a ideological rival".

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 graced the union's chamber and advise them against future participation".

The Oxford Union had earlier condemned Mr Abaraonye's remarks after Kirk's death and stated that concerns submitted about him had been referred for official review.

The president-elect had been one of several students to discuss with Kirk at the society in spring.