Turkmens went to the polls on Sunday in the presidential election in which six candidates, including acting President Gurbungali Berdymukhamedov, were competing for the Central Asian country's top job.

More than 2.65 million people were registered to vote and preliminary results of the election were expected on Tuesday, Murad Karriyev, head of the Central Election Commission, told reporters as he visited a polling station in Turkmenistan Niyazov Agriculture University in Ashgabat.

Polls opened at 8:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) and will close at 6:00 p.m. (1300 GMT).

At some polling stations in Ashgabat, bands played music and young singers in traditional costumes sang folk songs. Young voters who cast ballots for the first time would receive flowers and books as gifts.

Margarita Gurena, an 18-year-old student in the capital city, told Xinhua after she voted that she hoped the new president would focus on education.

The vote, the first in the country's history with more than one candidate, came nearly two months after the death of president Saparmurat Niyazov, who died from heart failure in December at the age of 66 and left no successor.

The date of the vote was unanimously approved by some 2,500 members of the People's Assembly, the country's top legislative body. Turkmenistan's constitution allows Berdymukhamedov to serve as acting president for 60 days and then an election must be held.

Berdymukhamedov, who was deputy prime minister before rising to acting president, has promised the election would be held on a democratic basis.

Other candidates are Ishanguly Nuryyev, deputy minister of oil and gas, Ashyrniyaz Pomanov, mayor of the town of Turkmenbashi, Mukhammednazar Gurbanov, head of the Karabekaul district, Orazmyrad Garadzhayev, mayor of the town of Abadan, and Amanyaz Atadzhikov, deputy governor of the northern Dashoguz region.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a transatlantic democracy and election body, has sent an election support team to Turkmenistan.

"The team is not observing nor monitoring the election as deployment of an election observation mission was not possible because of time constraints," the organization said in a statement.

Lying north of Afghanistan and Iran, the nation of 5 million people became independent with the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991. Turkmenistan is the top natural gas exporter in the region.

Source: Xinhua