Julian Assange to run for office
With literally all eyes on him, Assange will have to come up with a brilliant embassy escape plan if granted asylum by Ecuador.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has filed paperwork to run for a Senate seat in Australia's Victoria state.
Assange plans on running as a member of the newly formed WikiLeaks party, according to The Age, and his campaign will focus on "the democratic requirement of truthfulness from government."
However, the entire process may seem a bit complicated considering that Assange currently resides in the Ecuadorean Embassy in England. Fortunately, according to Australian law, The Atlantic Wire clarifies, citizens living overseas can file to vote as an overseas elector, and then run for Senate if they left Australia within the last three years and intend on returning in the next six years.
Since Assange is residing within the embassy in political asylum, following allegations of rape, it seems questionable that he'd leave and face extradition charges. According to the Age, that's not a problem.
"If Mr. Assange were elected but he was unable to return to Australia to take up his position, a nominee would occupy a Senate seat," wrote The Age.
A victory for Assange doesn't seem out of the cards according to polling data compiled by the Labor Party.
His mother, for one, is delighted that her son is planning on joining Australian politics, telling Agence France Presse that she believed he'd be "awesome" as a politician.