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Partington left to pick up the pieces as election chaos goes global

Oxford Union President Emily Partington was forced to deny allegations of sexual harassment and racism at the debating society this week after the story of Krishna Omkar’s disqualification hit national and international press.

Media interest began on Saturday with an article on page 3 of the Daily Mail entitled, “Poll rigging, sex jibes and a case of the Oxford blues” and focussing on the feud between ex-Treasurer Omkar and Charlotte Fischer, his opponent in last term’s elections. 

A similar article appeared in the Sunday Times the next day.When she resigned from Standing Committee two weeks ago, Fischer alleged that certain Union officers had sent her text messages saying “fancy a fuck?”.

Following an article in the Times of India that suggested members of Omkar’s slate were responsible for these messages, Emily Partington released a statement stressing that “Ms. Fischer has not alleged that Mr. Omkar or his supporters were responsible for the offensive messages.”

The statement continues, “The Oxford Union rejects any assertions of discrimination. It has a proud record of attracting committee members from all social, religious, and racial backgrounds, and does not discriminate on these, or any other, grounds.”

The story has made front page news in India. Omkar appeared on NDTV, an Indian television station, on Wednesday to defend himself.Being under the media spotlight has caused tension on the Union’s Standing Committee. 

On Monday, Librarian Ed Waldegrave asked committee member Ian Wellby if he had spoken to the Daily Mail. Wellby strongly denied the suggestion.Emily Partington added that she was unhappy with the coverage.

“I’m in the process of putting together a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission, and I’ve asked the papers to redress factual inaccuracies,” she said.She also commented that she was going to introduce a system of fines to discourage members of Standing Committee from speaking to the press without her express permission in the future.

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