UPDATE: Assange’s supporters, including his father, John Shipton, officially filed papers for Assange to run as a member of the newly-formed WikiLeaks Party in the Sept. 14 federal elections.
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WikiLeaks’ charismatic leader Julian Assange has confirmed that he is running for the Australian Senate.
How he will do this from his bolthole in the Ecuadorian embassy in London is unclear. He has been hiding there since June to avoid extradition to Sweden where he faces sex crimes charges.
Assange confirmed his commitment to running for office today via the WikiLeaks Twitter account.
“Australia: Julian Assange has confirmed he will run in the 2013 national election for the Australian Senate #auspol”
Assange indicated in a previous statement that if he ran, he would do so under the aegis of a WikiLeaks party. Australian law only requires 500 voters to sign up for a new party for it to be recognized.
That same law forbid felons and those under likely sentence from running. WikiLeaks claims Assange’s special status does not subject him to that prohibition.
If Assange were to be elected and be unable to take up his position in person for over two months, WikiLeaks claims the Australian Constitution allows the Senate to select of another candidate from the same party to serve instead.
New South Wales and Victoria seem to be the two Australian states discussed most often in terms of an Assange run.
Photo by Anabrambilla/Flickr
