WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to contest Australia elections

Melbourne: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, will run for a Senate seat in Australia this year and his mother feels he would offer a good break from the 'US lackeys' in politics. The confirmation was made by WikiLeaks on its Twitter account, though it is not clear how the whistle blower plans to go about his intentions while fighting against extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges.

Julian Assange. AP

Assange's mother, however, feels her hacker-turned activist son would be an "awesome" choice in the federal elections this year. "In the House of Representatives we get to choose between US lackey party number one and US lackey party number two - between the major parties. So it will be great to 'Assange' the Senate for some Aussie oversight," she was quoted as saying by AAP. "He will be awesome," she said of her 41-year-old son.

Australian-born Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since last June after Ecuador granted him refuge. UK refuses to give safe passage to Assange who fears a conspiracy to ultimately extradite him to the US where he could be tried for treason. Assange, who rubbed Washington the wrong way by releasing thousands of secret US diplomatic cables, is wanted in Sweden for questioning in connection with allegations of rape, which he denies.

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He had said last year he would run as a Senate candidate under a yet-to-be-formed WikiLeaks party banner and was recruiting others to stand with him. The election is scheduled for September 14. Assange will run on a WikiLeaks party ticket and if he is unable to take a place in Senate, the place will be filled by a running mate, WikiLeaks wrote on its Twitter account.

PTI