More than 24 million Algerian voters are heading to polling stations on Saturday to cast their votes and choose their upcoming president for a five-year term.

Voters are to choose from among three candidates: the candidate of the Socialist Forces Front, Youcef Aouchiche, the independent candidate, Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the candidate of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, reported the local press service.

Polling station doors opened at 8 a.m. and are to remain open until 7 p.m. with a possibility for extending for one more hour should it be necessary.

The figures released by the National Independent Elections Authority (ANIE) show that there are 24,351,551 eligible voters, of whom 23,486,601 are in the country, 47 percent are women and 53 percent men, while 36 percent are aged under 40.

As for the number of polling stations, there are approximately 63,000, while the number of polling staff is nearly 500,000, according to the president of the ANIE, Mohamed Charfi.

The mem
bers of the national community abroad, including an electorate of 865,490 voters began voting last Monday.

As for voting in mobile polling stations for nomads and remote areas in the country’s southern regions, it started Wednesday and concerns 116,064 voters registered in 134 polling stations located in 51 communes and spread over 16 provinces.

Source: Kuwait News Agency