Oxford Union alumni have criticized the incoming president as “vindictive” after he declined to step down from his position despite a vote calling for his removal.
George Abaraonye recently lost a vote of no confidence following controversial social media posts where he allegedly made light of an incident involving Charlie Kirk. Despite this, Abaraonye is now contesting the vote’s outcome, allowing him to remain in office while the dispute is addressed, in accordance with Union regulations.
Ironically, this situation could enable him to assume the presidency in January as initially scheduled if the challenge remains unresolved.
This evening, a spokesperson for the Concerned Alumni of the Oxford Union, a group of past officers who opposed Abaraonye, described his refusal to accept the vote as “vindictive.”
The spokesperson stated, “The vote should have marked the conclusion of Abaraonye’s contentious tenure, yet he stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the result and relinquish the presidency.”
They said: ‘The result should have been the end of Abaraonye’s farce, yet he refuses to accept [it] and give up the office of president.
‘His doing so reveals a lack of integrity and demonstrates he cares little for what the Union means beyond carrying a title for a term.
‘Sweeping governance reforms are required now, or the institution will continue its rapid downwards trajectory into insignificance.’
Oxford Union alumni have branded president-elect, George Abaraonye (pictured) ‘vindictive’ after he refused to leave his role despite being voted out
Meanwhile, Lord Biggar, Tory peer and Emeritus Professor of Theology at Oxford, said: ‘George Abaraonye’s tweet…displayed a horrifically casual attitude to political violence that is completely inimical to a liberal institution such as the Oxford Union.
‘That he is now fighting tooth and nail to save his own skin, no matter what the cost to the reputation of the institution he is supposed to serve, only underscores his ill fitness for the presidency.’
The ballot was held on Saturday, when 1,746 Oxford Union members – both students and alumni – voted.
Of those, 1,228 voted in favour of the vote of no confidence, meaning the two thirds threshold required to oust him was met.
Counting the votes took more than two days, because of problems with verifying the identities of proxy voters.
After the result was called, at 6.17am today, Mr Abaraonye said it had been ‘compromised’ by insecure handling of the proxy votes – a claim the Oxford Union denies.
He said he had made a complaint to the union’s disciplinary committee, alleging that his enemies had been given ‘unsupervised access’ to an email account holding proxy votes.
‘We do not know if or how many proxy votes have been tampered with,’ he said.
Sources said the complaint could take months to go through the internal tribunal process.
A spokesman for the Oxford Union said tonight: ‘This claim is entirely baseless and false.’
A statement from Mr Abaraonye’s team said: ‘George Abaraonye is and remains the president-elect as per the Oxford Union rules.
‘George is proud and thankful to have the support of well in excess of a majority of students at Oxford.’
In a further twist, it emerged today Mr Abaraonye’s allies have triggered another no-confidence vote, this time against the current president Moosa Harraj, over his handling of the affair.
It is understood this second vote will take place on Thursday.
The furore over Mr Abaraonye began last month when 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 the US influencer 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.’
Following an outcry, Mr Abaraonye took the unusual step of triggering a motion of no confidence against himself in a bid to reclaim ‘true accountability’, hoping it would allow him to remain in post with renewed legitimacy.
The Oxford Union is a 200-year-old debating society for Oxford students and alumni which is independent from university management.
Following the initial vote result, Edward Skidelsky, lecturer in philosophy at Exeter University and director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, said: ‘George Abaraonye’s response to Kirk’s assassination was not illegal.
‘However, it is unfitting for the president of a debating society to celebrate the murder of political opponents, and I am glad to see that he has been constitutionally ejected from that position.’
