Who is George Abaraonye? Oxford Union's President-elect loses vote of no confidence over insensitive Charlie Kirk remark
The Oxford Union president-elect, George Abaraonye, lost a confidence vote after controversial comments about Charlie Kirk's shooting
The Oxford Union debating society's incoming president lost a vote of confidence due to his comments regarding the killing of Charlie Kirk, a conservative figure in the United States.
Kirk was assassinated by a suspected gunman Tyler Robinson on September 10.
501 voters supported George Abaraonye, while 1,228 voted against him, according to the voting results. A total of 1,746 individuals voted on Saturday, both in person and by proxy, with 17 ballots invalid or void, Sky News reported.
George Abaraonye claims voting was ‘compromised’
Abaraonye has disputed the results, stating that the poll was “compromised.”
According to a statement released on his behalf, the returning officer who conducted the voting “shared around the email account collecting proxy votes” and suggests that his votes may have been “tampered with” as a result, as per BBC.
The outcome follows Monday's informal suspension of the voting process because of “an impossible working atmosphere”.
The returning officer was the target of “obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility by a number of representatives”, as per the notice.
George Abaraonye's insensitive comment about Charlie Kirk shooting
Abaraonye filed the motion of no confidence against himself in response to the widespread criticism he received in September for his remarks regarding Kirk's shooting.
In a WhatsApp conversation with fellow students, Abaraonye said, “Charlie Kirk got shot, let's f****** go.” His Instagram post stated, “Charlie Kirk got shot loool,” which caused a stir, according to reports, Sky News reported.
Last week, Abaraonye stated in a YouTube interview last week that the media had “misrepresented” him as he didn't know the US influencer had passed away when he uploaded the posts.
“I reacted poorly, I reacted very quickly. At the time I didn't know anything about the situation,” he said.
In May, Abaraonye had met Kirk at an Oxford Union debate on toxic masculinity. Last month, the union denounced his remarks and initiated disciplinary action. They also denounced the racial harassment and threats that Abaraonye has encountered.
