The decision-making process regarding the fate of the Oxford Union’s incoming president, who controversially endorsed the shooting of Charlie Kirk, has been halted amid claims of ‘intimidation’ directed at officials.
George Abaraonye ignited a firestorm last month after sharing social media posts that seemingly condoned violence against the American influencer.
Following the revelation of Mr. Kirk’s passing, Abaraonye removed the posts, expressing regret for his actions and admitting he reacted without full awareness of the circumstances.
Over the weekend, members of the Oxford Union participated in a no-confidence vote to determine whether Abaraonye should be removed from his position in light of the controversy.
Although results were anticipated soon, the count has been postponed due to what has been described as an ‘untenable working environment.’
A notice displayed on a Union bulletin board explained that the ‘Extraordinary Returning Officer faced obstruction, intimidation, and undue hostility’ from ‘representatives’ involved in the matter.
It said the suspension was due to them ‘actively subtracting’ from ‘efforts to ascertain a result’.
There is no suggestion that Mr Abaraonye was involved in the alleged intimidation.
The notice said the count would continue after the trouble-makers were removed and new observers found.
A vote to decide the future of the Oxford Union president-elect who celebrated Charlie Kirk ’s shooting has been suspended due to ‘intimidation’ of officials (pictured: George Abaraonye)
It said the behaviour so far had been ‘utterly unacceptable’ and added: ‘Any member who behaves in an intimidating, aggressive, or otherwise disruptive manner shall be removed from the count room with immediate effect.’
It is understood verifying the identities of the proxy voters has delayed the counting process.
The vote was triggered by Mr Abaraonye himself, in an unusual step, in a bid to reclaim ‘true accountability’.
Mr Abaraonye had been hoping to persuade enough people to vote in his favour to allow him to continue in his role with renewed legitimacy.
However, this was thrown into doubt when the vote was opened up to proxy voters, meaning tens of thousands of alumni all over the world could vote if they remained Oxford Union members.
A group called Concerned Alumni of the Oxford Union campaigned to get people to sign up to vote against him.
The group, which is made up of dozens of former officers of the Union, said Mr Abaraonye’s conduct had been ‘sickening’.
The Oxford Union is a 200-year-old debating society for Oxford students and alumni which is independent from university management.
The university has so far not taken any disciplinary action against Mr Abaraonye, who was due to start his role in January.
The furore erupted after Mr Abaraonye, a second-year philosophy, politics and economics student, appeared to celebrate the sniper attack on Mr Kirk in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
He posted social media messages on the evening of September 10, including one saying: ‘Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f—— go’ – a common celebratory phrase among Gen Z.
In a YouTube interview last week, he claimed he had been ‘misrepresented’ by the media because he hadn’t realised Kirk had died when he posted the messages.
He said: ‘I reacted poorly, I reacted very quickly. At the time I didn’t know anything about the situation.
‘I retracted and deleted my comments, and the stories came out a day later saying I celebrated his death. But at this point I had no clue.’
Asked if he would have said it if he’d seen the video of the shooting, he said: ‘No’.
The Oxford Union was contacted for comment.
