Assange to Run for Australian Senate, Mulls WikiLeaks Party

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to run for the Australian Senate in 2013. Photo by EPA/BGNES

WikiLeaks founder Mr Julian Assange is planning to contest a seat to the Australian Senate, WikiLeaks announced on Twitter.

Assange, an Australian citizen, is being detained in UK ahead of a possible extradition to Sweden where he is wanted on sexual assault allegations. He reported to be considering the setting up of a political party named "WikiLeaks".

WikiLeaks announced that Assange is planning to run for a seat in Australian Senate, adding that the 40-year-old's current legal status did not bar him from contesting.

"We have discovered that it is possible for Julian Assange to run for the Australian Senate while detained," WikiLeaks said on Twitter.

In its tweet, WikiLeaks said it would also put up a candidate against Prime Minister Julia Gillard in her Lower House Victorian seat of Lalor.

"The name of the Lalor candidate and the state Julian will run for will be announced at the appropriate time," WikiLeaks said.

The Australian government has been hard on Assange as in 2010 PM Gillard asked Australian police to investigate whether WikiLeaks had broken any Australian law.

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