Julian Assange debates running in the UK election

Following Theresa May’s call for a snap election on June 8, Julian Assange has taken to Twitter to ask his followers if he should run to be UK Prime Minister.

The Wikileaks founder posted a poll – led by the question “Should I run in the UK general election?” – on his account earlier today. He provided four different options as answers: “Yes. Do it! That'd be fun”, “Yes. Mock them globally”, “No. Really US+EU fault” and “No. Way bigger fish.”

Although an unlikely candidate, Assange would actually be eligible – if only there wasn’t the small matter of being stuck in London’s Ecuadorian embassy after being granted asylum by the country in 2010. Other than that, he qualifies on account of his Australian citizenship (Australia being a member state of the Commonwealth) and being over 18.

Although the UK Election Commission specifies that you can’t have been sentenced or detained in the UK, Assange makes the case that he’s currently detained without charge after Swedish allegations of rape and sexual assault – accusations he claims are part of a wider conspiracy to discredit him. Since his detainment, the whistleblower has become known for his outspoken political views, and has been previously linked to both UKIP and Trump.

Regardless of whether anything comes of this latest venture, his followers appear to hope so, with option “Yes. Do it! That would be fun” leading the vote on 50 per cent (at the time of writing). “Yes. Mock them globally” is currently in second place. Place your vote below:

Learn what you can do to make the most of the upcoming election here