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Leon Neal / AFP - Getty Images file
In this file picture taken on Dec. 20, 2012 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange addresses members of the media and supporters from the window of the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, west London.
Julian Assange Tuesday took the first step toward a Senate run in the Australian state of Victoria as a member of the newly formed WikiLeaks Party, Australian daily The Age reported.
Assange, an activist and founder of the non-profit organization WikiLeaks, which publishes classified information and news leaks from anonymous sources, is poised to run in the Sept. 14 federal election.
According to The Age, Assange's electoral enrollment application was submitted to the Australian Electoral Commission in Melbourne by WikiLeaks supporters, including Assange's father, John Shipton.
Shipton said the enrollment was ''a first step'' in a political campaign that would focus on ''the democratic requirement of truthfulness from government.''
This first step in the process Assange initiated is the equivalent of voter registration in the United States. Becoming the WikiLeaks candidate will require the party's nomination, Graeme Orr, professor at the University of Queensland and an Assange adviser, told Mashable.
The WikiLeaks party is not yet registered with the country's electoral commission. Registration would require that 500 members who are listed on the electoral roll be confirmed, according to The Age.
Australian citizens living overseas may register to vote -- and, implicitly, run for office at home -- if they left Australia within the past three years prior to the election and plan to return within six years of their departure, The Age reported.
Assange put down his mother's home as his last address in Australia, where he allegedly lived until June 2010.
But the WikiLeaks founder has been living at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for more than six months — eluding Swedish authorities, who have an outstanding arrest warrant for him in connection to a sexual assault investigation.
Assange spoke of his political ambitions in December, when he said he was interested in running for Senate, adding that "a number of very worthy people admired by the Australian public" had signaled they'd be willing to join him on a party ticket.
According to The Age, opinion polls conducted last year suggest Assange would be a competitive candidate.
A representative for the Australian Electoral Commission said the application for electoral enrollment is a private matter between the applicant and the commission, so he would not discuss individual cases.
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How can one run for political office in one country when one is ensconced in an embassy in another country seeking political asylum from that country in whose embassy one is hiding in? I thought one would have to be RESIDENT in the country in which you were running for a legislative office. They must do things differently in Australia.
Wow, and we thought OUR politicians were wacko.
King, I think Jesse Jr was still somewhere in the state of Illinois. Assange is in a completely different country - England - on Ecuadorian soil since he is in their embassy. How can and why would Australian election laws allow him to run for the Australian Senate, especially when seeking political asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden. When one is granted asylum, doesn't one surrender their passport from their former country of citizenship? I would assume given that Australia is a former British colony and member of the Commonwealth that their election laws would be similar to England's. Last time I checked, you couldn't run for the British Parliament if you were in the Georgian embassy in Rome seeking asylum from Georgia (the country, not the U.S. state).
I would never insult Australia by comparing their election laws to Iraq's.
I do, though, agree that he is like a loser living in his mom's basement.
and jessie jr wasn't wanted for rape.
You must be a legal citizen, but not required to be a resident. John McCain was born in Panama, but can run for president because he was born on an American military base. Another example, Obama was born in Hawaii, and if he lived in Japan, he can still run for president or the USA.
Couple things here. WTF do the Ecuadorians care about this idiot? Second, what's his problem with going back to Sweden to clear his name? I'm mean it's Sweden for God's sake. It's not like he's going to be tortured or anything. Oh, and founder of WikiLeaks? He gets some douchebag to betray his country, receives e-mailed classified information, steals the name of an online encyclopedia, and slaps on Leaks in place of pedia. What a loser.
Why hasn't somebody arrested and convicted this wacko?
It's a long shot.
Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
A/noon..Great just what we need here in my State of Victoria, another "drop kick" in the Parliament....
Juliet Assorange is a coward! If he were innocent, he wouldn't be hiding out in an Ecuadorian embassy. Who is this guy kidding? He thinks he can actually win a senate seat in Australia while he's on the run from international authorities.
He's certainly no coward. No coward would snitch on politicians worldwide on the internet. He's also not on the run, everyone knows where he is. Knowing how corrupt American politicians are, they are probably behind the whole scheme to have him extradited to Sweden so they can have him extradited to America; that's the price he will pay for snitching on corrupt American politicians. Every war since WWII has been started based on politicians lies and they don't want that brought to light.
Zheng He - Hi is most certainly a coward. He picks fights and then goes into hiding, he blames everyone else for his problems, he flaunts the legal systems of numerous countries. He is a hacker, the same type of people who steal credit card information which also makes him a thief. He is a man worthy of a gunshot to the head and not much more, and I use the word man very loosely with him.
Candlewycke......you said:
Are you familiar with the events leading up to Assange's indictment in Sweden? See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11949341
There is no shortage of online documentation of the relationships Mr. Assange had with the two women that led to their (rather tardy) allegations of sexual crimes. Furthermore, the (internationally controversial) threshold for "rape" in Sweden can put nearly anyone at risk for such charges should any (particularly Swedish) woman in a sexual encounter decide to assert them.
In this case, it appears two women with whom Mr. Assange had (consensual) sexual relations became aware of those (respective) relations and reacted with pique. It also appears that nations who were at odds with Mr. Assange's Wikileaks activities exploited (possibly even precipitated) that reaction and subsequent complaints. So, this is no simple case of sexual battery. Rather, it is a case of international intrigue within which legal proceedings are merely a device used by sovereign nations to silence a voice.
Some disagree with Mr. Assange's gadfly and whistle-blower activities. Many others support them. Undeniably, he has been extraordinarily effective in publicizing the deeds of the agencies of various nations.
The pros and cons have been, are being, and will be debated. But, Mr. Assange is absolutely no coward. He knowingly risked the ire of the most powerful forces on Earth. Calling him a "coward" for taking refuge in a diplomatic mission is akin to calling a soldier engaged in an intense battle a coward because he keeps his head low in a foxhole.
It may be that election to the Australian senate will confer diplomatic immunity upon Mr. Assange. If not automatically, then immunity may ensue should he be declared an envoy. In any case, his election would write another very interesting chapter in the ongoing grand-scale saga of Mr. Julian Assange.
Well you sepos will never understand.
The sex Assange had was consensual, but Assange didn't use a condom to prevent the transmission of possible STDs. Under Swedish law, a woman can bring a charge of rape afterward if the man failed to use a condom.
How is he going to represent the people (say d...h...s) who voted for him (if he gets elected)?, seems that he will not be leaving the Ecuadorian Embassy anytime soon.
He seems to be someone who makes and takes all the action only if it suits him.
What will he do as a politician - let out the secrets of the government? The public would like that but the govenrment wouldn't and he would therefore find himself back in the can!!
Please help support freedom of the press and freedom of information by sponsoring Julian Assange for the Nobel prize for freedom of the press: Google: Avaaz.org "Julian Assange for Nobel prize "Freedom of the Press"" and vote!
PLEASE HELP PROMOTE THIS LINK.
Jullian Assange is very intelligent...but not very practical. That has its good and bad. Sometimes he seems smart and savvy, sometimes he seems like a not-so-mature attention-seeking juvenile whose mummy still has to cook for him, feed him and do his laundry. You see that boyishness in him...though he is nearly 40.
He is also very arrogant. That can help in certain fights - especially when you are a alone and attacked. Sometimes it can work against you.
He has done some daring defiant things. He needs respect and support for that. He is at times a bit of an attention seeker. But his ability to run and win in Victoria, Melbourne is its capital (and a beautiful city), is slim. Somebody else might actually manage his seat while he is abroad. That has happened before in other countries.
In Pakistan Benazir Bhutto's seat, after she was assassinated, was won by her son, who was underage and living in England at that time. So his father, Zardari, was ruling as a temporary replacement.
It is far fetched...but it is not impossible.
He deserves the Noble Prize...but that should go to his organization more so than him.
Guess the propaganda services don't like Wikileaks. The uncomplimentary picture says it all.
You want to be tricked into unnecessary and illegal wars? Read NBC.
You want to be ok with feeding Wall Street greed? Read NBC.
You want your rights chisled at and feel ok about it? Read NBC.
You want to read the truth about government lies and crimes? Read Wikileaks.
For example:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/wikileaks-cable-corroborates-evidence-us-airstrikes-yemen-2010-12-01
Does he really think that if he wins this election the Aussies won't turn him over to the Swedes?
He is an arrogant coward...he doesn't care who gets hurt because of his illegal actions as long as he is the center of attention...for crying out loud hes alienated many of the people in his own organization due to his increasing power trip. Nice to see the wikiwackos here who not only won't hold him accountable for his behaviour but crying out for a Nobel Peace prize for him...... that might be the best laugh I've had in a long time....
Competitive? In what sense? I can't believe there are many Australians that buy this criminal's baloney.
this fool continues to be a joke. he should be in jail. aren't they afraid if he gets into the government he will leak everything. this is all that fool has to do he should just get a real job and shut up. probably to lazy its easier just to scam people all the time for money how else dose he live.
I can see it now. Assange gets elected, but needs to show up in Australia to be sworn in. That isn't happening, because the US has a warrant for his arrest, as does Sweden. Both the US and Sweden have embassies in Australia, so when Assange gets off the secret airplane, he will be arrested and shipped back to Sweden to be convicted of rape, then sent to the US (once he served 47 years in a Swedish jail) to be convicted of divulging classified material and will spend the rest of his miserable life in a US prison near Florence, Colorado. I still bet that's better than the Peruvian embassy in London, though.
If Assange were elected, would diplomatic immunity be (automatically) conferred upon him, or would that occur should he become an envoy of the Australian diplomatic mission?
Zheng, you're probably wasting your breath trying to defend assange. it may be that the same detractors would scathe daniel ellsberg. are they assuming that the leaked cables are false, if so, then that is another issue and how can one be a criminal in a libel sense for releasing false statements by only saying "here is what has been said'? if they are true, then their priorities hold truth second or lower. if they are using the privacy issue, then we must look at the fact that these are government based leaks (and maybe some publicly traded corps). exposure of lies and corruption so that we the people can be informed on such important information....seems very appropriate to me. if all the work we do that is up for public scrutiny is shown to be irrelevent compared to what the 'real truth" is behind the veil, the veil of secrecy, backroom deals....then we cannot call that democracy or representative government. if what is done in your name is corrupt, is shown to be a lie, you would shoot the messenger? would you rather have had my lai covered up?enrons dealings, blackwater murders, chappaquiddick? is this about truth and exposure of corruption or is it about tribalism? (the moral relevancy is based on if it affects 'our guy' or not)
i have read many of the pertinent leaks and they really piss me off. not because they were leaked. it seems that many commentators here don't know the facts of the case re assange, especially on why he has sought safety. they call him a coward? wow! if you had found out through leaks that some country was doing illegal 'extraordinary renditions' and by exposing this being subject to said e.r., and you sought safety away from that, you would call him a coward? if you found out that someone was torturing someone else and you leaked that information, you would call that leaker a coward, a miscreant? if you found out that government officials were accepting bribes and you leaked that information, you would call that person wrong to do that leak? wikileaks has exposed the 'real politik' that goes on on the world stage. you can criticize his personal behavior (he has been charged with no crime but he rightfully fears unjust treatment) but you can't rightfully call him a coward. btw, to "dickcranium" (love the irony there)...you say he stole the name of an encyclopedia? revealing.
"if he was 'innocent' of this incident in sweden then he should not run and hide".....? this might have validity if he did not have strong indications that the rule of law would be subverted, as wikileaks has shown to be the case repeatably
and as a final, generalized appeal to his detractors (and btw wikileaks has made great effort in editing the leaks so as to eliminate collateral damage), DON'T YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?
Gentlepersuasion;
Your logic is incredibly flawed. You comments defend Assange who is a sleasey scoundrel and you slander the women who have come forward to accuse him of "sexual misconduct". Now, here is the statistics. In sexual assault more than 95% of reports are true but proving them is difficult. We have at least two women of reputable character who care little for the "evil US conspirators" , stating the man assaulted them. There is the allegation a date rape drug was used. Now explain to me, given the research, how you get past the probabilities in the case. I fear this guy is lower than a snake in a wagon rut and can not be trusted and I certainly doubt the Australians will trust him; they are not that stupid. His idea of truth is government is to finance his sexual misconduct as if he was one of the good guys we all love and care about. I personally don't care if they throw him off the Cliffs of Dover on his way out of the country.
Truth in Government is a oxymoron; it is, afterall, run by politicians and if their lips are moving they are lying for the most part. On the other hand, he will fit right in. Why he may even surpass Bill Clinton's ability to encounter women without having "sexual relations". But the real measure is would you want him to date your daughter, the sister, etc. Finally, isn't he still stuck the embassy trying to dodge the rape conviction.
Govt's need more people like Assange and I think what he did was commendable, someone willing to risk his life & freedom to get the truth out to people and not the BS that the gov't. and media tries to force-feed us.
elithian....besides the notion of innocent until proven guilty, have you even read the case? how the woman involved took days to even report this, that she made breakfast for him the next morning? how have i slandered this woman? please tell me.
his idea of truth in government is to finance his sexual misconduct? is anybody watching this display of logical connections?
tell me, if there were no sexual misconduct allegations, what would you think about assange?