George Abaraonye’s resignation was confirmed in a report by the Oxford Union’s Senior Disciplinary Committee led by ex-President Graeme Halkerston on November 24th. Abaraonye’s deemed resignation occurred on October 21st after he lost a no-confidence motion that he had brought against himself, but complaints were made regarding the counting process and with regard to proxy voting.
The committee also stated that “Mr Abaraonye is prevented from entering the office of President… The successor to Mr Abaraonye to the position of President-Elect is the Librarian in office as at 21 October 2025.”
According to the same disciplinary committee report, the committee was “not satisfied that the complainants had proven that the result of the Poll of No Confidence in Mr Abaraonye is unsafe”, and subsequently did not request a re-count or re-poll.
Although the Senior Disciplinary Committee has confirmed Abaraonye’s resignation, it is still a decision subject to his appeal. According to a second report by the Committee issued on November 25th, Abaraonye “remains President-Elect until the period at which he would enter the Office of President unless he were to confirm prior to that date that he does not intend to appeal the decision of the Committee”. The same report also announced that current Union President Moosa Harraj has acted “ultra vires” in triggering succession to Hilary term presidency.
That said, if Abaraonye’s resignation is finalised, Katherine Yang will become the Union’s President next term.
The initial calls for Abaraonye’s resignation came due to his apparent celebration of the murder of Charlie Kirk on September 10th. “Charlie Kirk got shot loool,” he wrote in an Instagram message, while also reportedly praising Kirk’s death in a WhatsApp group involving fellow Oxford students.
Despite claiming later that he had “reacted impulsively” and that his words “did not reflect [his] values”, Abaraonye’s initial reaction to Kirk’s shooting led to widespread criticism across the globe, with prominent figures such Liz Truss, Piers Morgan, and Elon Musk condemning his behaviour, as well as 70 Union alumni signing an open letter urging him to resign.
On October 20th the no-confidence vote count against Abaraonye was “informally suspended” for a few hours, with a Union notice attributing it to “the development of an impossible working atmosphere”.
The initial disciplinary report also dismissed Samy Medjdoub from his current role of Union Secretary. Medjoub will also be suspended from the Union until Week 0 of Michaelmas Term 2026 due to acting “in dereliction of [his] duties”, thus violating the Society’s Rule 71(a)(i)(3)(E).
Abaraonye, Medjoub, and Harraj have been approached for comment.
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