The Oxford Union has been thrust into renewed turmoil after removing another president-elect, this time over allegations of election fraud. Catherine Xu, a postgraduate student at Exeter College, was ousted following an internal tribunal that accused her of attempting to secure votes from non-members during her campaign for the presidency.
Another Leadership Crisis
This incident occurs just months after George Abaraonye, a previous president-elect, was also removed for appearing to celebrate on social media the killing of US activist Charlie Kirk. In the latest controversy, Xu is accused of distributing Oxford Union membership cards to individuals who were not entitled to vote, enabling them to cast ballots on polling day—a claim she vehemently denies.
Tribunal Findings
The 200-year-old debating society convened a panel of former Union officers to conduct an election tribunal after Xu won the election last month. She was scheduled to become President for the autumn term until allegations surfaced that she had given membership cards to non-members, allowing them to vote using false names. According to tribunal documents published by The Telegraph, Xu was accused of procuring 'the impersonation of members of the society at the poll … by supplying an instrument and/or the Oxford Union membership card … for the purpose of enabling other persons to cast ballots at the poll in the names borne on them.'
The tribunal, held on April 25-26, as reported by student newspaper The Cherwell, found that Xu had handed out a stack of union membership cards on polling day to people not entitled to vote, instructing them to cast ballots in other members' names. A number of students were caught on March 6 voting using the identification of other members by Leo Zhou, a candidate for the secretary's committee, who confronted them. Some were reportedly voting in favor of Xu.
Evidence and Denial
Xu allegedly discussed 'finding people' on the social media platform WeChat and sent a voicenote to a friend a few days after the election asking whether she still had 'the cards.' The tribunal found this to be 'particularly damning.' Following the process, Xu was ousted and barred from any future elections.
Xu denied the allegations, dismissing them as 'political drama.' She told the Oxford Student website: 'I strongly reject the findings against myself and deny that any conspiracy existed. I am deeply concerned that the decision appears to rely on evidence I believe to be fabricated or materially unreliable, yet imposes an extraordinarily severe and disproportionate penalty. The union has seen increasing political drama and decisions based on contested evidence in recent years, and such a verdict risks encouraging more anonymous and fabricated allegations. This case must receive strict appeal review, with full procedural fairness and transparency.'
Campaign Context
Before the election, Xu had campaigned for more female speakers, stating: 'The union is way bigger than its scandals, but the perceived dysfunction keeps drowning out the good. I want to help fix that.' The Daily Mail approached the Oxford Union and Xu for comment.
