Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces general elections on May 21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia will conduct general elections on May 21.

"This election and this campaign is incredibly important," the Australian prime minister said as he announced the elections.

Morrison's Liberal-National Party has dominated the national political scene for the past nine years even as the opposition led by Labor Party's Anthony Albanese eyes a comeback.

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The war of words began almost immediately as Albanese attacked Morrison and asserted that the "pandemic has given us the opportunity to imagine a better future."

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Morrison's government has battled the pandemic for the past two years putting in strict entry control in the first year as many citizens who were stuck abroad were also not allowed to enter, however, after restrictions were eased the country was hit with a new wave as the pandemic took hold.

Morrison's government was criticised for the slow rolling out of the vaccines as the country battled the virus. PM Morrison had announced fuel tax cuts and tax rebates in hisrecent budgetas the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to rise in fuel prices.

The Australian prime minister had come from behind win the elections in May 2019 after trailing in opinion polls. Nationwide opinion polls show Morrison's conservative coalition has been trailing the Labor party with the Liberal-led coalition behind Labor 45-55 in the latest opinion polls.

Reports claim Anthony Albanese's Labor has a sizeable chunk of 18 to 49-year-old voters even as Morrison struggles to win over women voters.

(With inputs from Agencies)