Kim Dotcom starts political party

INDICTED internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom is launching a political party in his adopted home of New Zealand to contest the general election.

INDICTED internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom says he's launching a political party in his adopted home of New Zealand to contest the country's general election this year.

In an interview today with The Associated Press, Dotcom said he is founding and funding the party but will not be a candidate. Born Kim Schmitz in Germany, the 39-year-old is a New Zealand resident but not a citizen and cannot be a candidate under New Zealand law.

News_Image_File: German internet businessman and co-founder of the popular file-sharing site Megaupload.com, Kim Schmitz, aka Kim Dotcom. Picture: AFP

Dotcom said he will launch the party Monday, the second anniversary of when police stormed his mansion near Auckland and arrested him.

Authorities at that time also shut down Megaupload, the popular file-sharing site he founded. He has since started a new file-hosting site, Mega.

News_Image_File: Internet piracy accused Kim Dotcom previously released CCTV footage taken of the 2012 police raid of his New Zealand mansion.

US prosecutors accuse Dotcom of facilitating internet piracy on a massive scale. Charged with racketeering and money laundering, he's fighting US attempts to extradite him. Dotcom argues he can't be held responsible for those who chose to use his site to illegally download songs or movies.

News_Image_File: Kim Dotcom's 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible, with the numberplate 'God', pictured outside of Kim's mansion in Coatesville, New Zealand.

Dotcom said that next week he will launch his party website, a mobile app, and will begin registering party members. New Zealand law requires political parties to have 500 paid members.

Dotcom said he has some good candidates for the party but wants to keep those and other details a surprise for the launch.

News_Image_File: Kim Dotcom's mansion in Coatesville, New Zealand, reveals the life of a cyberworld multi-millionaire who is thought to have made his fortune from infringing copyright.

"As you can imagine, everybody wants to know," he said.

Dotcom has been hinting about his plans for months on Twitter: "My political party will activate non-voters, the youth, the internet electorate," he wrote last week.

News_Rich_Media: A year after being arrested for alleged online piracy, internet tycoon Kim Dotcom is launching a new file sharing service. Courtesy Chadd Davis.

It's not clear what policies the party will promote. Dotcom has been outspokenly critical of both liberals like US President Barack Obama and conservatives like New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key.

News_Image_File: Aerial views of tow trucks that took cars away from Kim Dotcom's house in Coatesville, New Zealand, in a police raid back in 2012.

But some observers believe Dotcom could influence the election. Opinion polls in New Zealand show a fairly even balance between conservative and liberal voters. Under New Zealand's proportional system, parties need to win just 5 per cent of the vote to get a seat in Parliament. Even if Dotcom's party didn't win a seat, it could still take votes away from other parties.

"Kim Dotcom could throw a real spanner in the works of this year's general election," wrote Bryce Edwards, a political commentator and lecturer at the University of Otago, on his blog.

News_Image_File: Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom smiles as he takes part in the launch of his new website at a press conference at his mansion in Auckland. Picture: AFP

"His promised new party is far from certain to get into Parliament, but depending on how well it tickles the fancies of some of the more radical, marginalised, and disillusioned voters and non-voters, the so-called Mega Party could have a huge impact on who forms the next government."

Dotcom's extradition case has become entangled in the New Zealand legal system and has been the subject of numerous delays. U.S. authorities say they expect the case to be heard in July - although appeals after that could delay a final outcome until next year.

New Zealand's government has yet to set a date for the election. Many observers expect it will be held between September and November.