Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Sunday called an election for both houses of parliament on July 2 as he seeks his own mandate with the public just eight months after deposing predecessor Tony Abbott in a party coup.
The widely expected announcement was the latest chapter in the turbulent world of Australian politics, where a revolving door of leaders saw multi-millionaire former banker Turnbull, 61, become the fourth prime minister in just over two years when he ousted Abbott in September.
"The governor-general has accepted my advice to dissolve both houses of parliament effective tomorrow morning, and call an election for both houses, a double dissolution, on 2 July," Turnbull said at a press conference in Canberra as he announced one of the nation's longest-ever election campaigns.
"Australians will have a very clear choice - to keep the course, maintain the commitment to our national economic plan for growth and jobs, or go back to Labour, with its high-taxing, higher spending, debt and deficit agenda.
"I will be seeking a mandate from the Australian people as the prime minister of this country to carry out this (economic) plan."
Labour opposition leader Bill Shorten, a 48-year-old ambitious former union chief, is aiming to add his name to the prime ministerial list when he takes on the Liberal Party's Turnbull in what is tipped to be a tightly contested vote.
The latest opinion polls published by News Limited newspapers on Sunday showed the coalition and Labour neck-and-neck at 50-50.
Turnbull ruled out a snap poll after he assumed the top job but stayed true to his threat last month to call early general elections by using the trigger of a double dissolution - where all seats in both houses of parliament are contested - after deadlocked legislation failed to pass the upper house Senate.
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