One month and eight days after the fatal shooting of conservative media personality and influencer Charlie Kirk, the President-Elect of the Oxford Union faced a vote of no-confidence on his presidency following comments he made in the aftermath of the shooting. 

George Abaraonye, a third-year PPE student from University College, fought on Saturday to retain his position as President-Elect. The vote was open to all members of the Oxford Union and took place both in person and by proxy. This motion comes after comments made by Mr Abaraonye in the immediate aftermath of the shooting at Utah Valley University on social media, namely WhatsApp and Instagram.

In one of the leaked WhatsApp texts sent, the President-Elect wrote, “CHARLIE KIRK GOT SHOT LET’S F—— GO”. Another similar message was posted on Mr Abaraonye’s Instagram account with his public story reading “Charlie Kirk got shot loool.” 

These messages rapidly prompted national and international backlash, including from famous Oxford alumni. Piers Morgan, former Prime Minister Liz Truss, and Richard Tice are amongst those who criticised Mr Abaraonye’s comments and called for his resignation as President-Elect. 

Mr Abaraonye subsequently apologised for his comments. On the podcast, ‘WTF is left’, Mr Abaraonye discussed the amount of online abuse he has received in the aftermath of Mr Kirk’s death in the form of racist harassment and death threats.

The controversy has significantly affected the running of the Oxford Union. An anonymous spokesperson involved in the organisation of the Union claims that many guest speakers have cancelled their visit to the Union following the comments made. They claim that whilst many have cited scheduling issues, others, particularly minor speakers, were ‘disheartened’ by the comments made by the President-Elect. Speakers who cancelled included former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and right-wing pundit Candace Owens. Calvin Klein and Serena Williams are also said to have dropped out as speakers since the comments were made.

The spokesperson suggested that the no-confidence vote itself increased speaker cancellations, with two more speakers pulling out at the advent of the vote. 

The controversy has also affected the financial standing of the Union. The spokesperson claimed that £3m of sponsorships and donations have been pulled out of the Union since the incident. We cannot, however, confirm the veracity of such comments. The fresher drive this year was cited by the spokesperson as being half that of the previous year, although they did state that the year prior, the Union had also faced difficulties during their fresher drive.

The spokesperson also stated that members of the standing committee threatened to resign if they served under Mr Abaraonye. They also affirmed that members of the staff threatened to boycott the Union as a result of Mr Abaraonye’s actions.

The Union has, since the incident, condemned the President-Elect’s remarks and has equally decried the abuse and threats Mr Abaraonye has since received. The Union has allowed complaints regarding Mr Abaraonye to be forwarded for disciplinary proceedings. The disciplinary process is run by a panel of ex-Union officers who have left their position for a minimum of six years. According to the spokesperson, those with a legal background are prioritised. However, the disciplinary process has faced setbacks due to a ‘procedural issue’. University College, Oxford, have also stated they would take no disciplinary action against Mr Abaraonye. 

A full membership no-confidence vote has not occurred since November 2019, when then-President, Brendan McGrath, also faced Union polls after an incident where Ebenezer Azamati, a blind student, was pulled out of the debating chambers by security guards for refusing to give up his seat to a committee member. Whilst in Trinity Term of 2025, the then-President, Anita Okunde, faced an indicative motion of no-confidence, the matter remained a standing committee matter and did not involve all members of the Oxford Union. 

Mr Abaraonye and others have recently criticised the unprecedented election system for including proxy voting alongside traditional in-person voting. On his Instagram account, Mr Abaraonye claims there had been “attempts to rig the election”. According to the spokesperson, Union poll regulations only come out 4 days before an election and therefore regularly face changes. The turnout on Saturday was expected to be high, with proxy voting likely to contribute to high alumni turnout.

The vote count has been suspended since the vote was administered on Saturday 18 October. No result has been announced as of publication.

The Oxford Blue attempted to contact both Mr Abaraonye and The Oxford Union in response to these claims. Neither responded to our request.