JULY 3- International anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks has been officially designated as a political party by the Australian Election Commission, paving the way for founder Julian Assange’s assertion that he will run for a Senate seat in the upcoming federal election.
The Australian Election Commission has formally signed the registration of the organisation as the WikiLeaks Party.
Assange expressed his desire to run for the Australian senate earlier this year, even picking Greg Barns, a former member of staff of the conservative Liberal Party, as the Wikileaks Party campaign director in April.
“Julian Assange is in a very good position to pick up a seat in Victoria,” Barns told a local paper after the party’s registration.
It is still, however, unclear how Assange intends to contest considering that he his currently holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Assange has been under practical house arrest in the embassy for over a year, under constant threat of arrest by local UK police due to an extradition request by Sweden. Assange is wanted in Sweden in a sexual assault case.
The Party, on the other hand, says that another candidate will stand in his stead in case he is elected.
The Australian federal elections are scheduled for September 14 this year.
INDIA TODAY
