Turkmen voters streamed into polling stations on Sunday in a presidential election that features President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and seven other candidates.

The nearly 3 million registered voters have till 8 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) to cast their ballots at the some 2,300 polling stations across the country.

Berdymukhamedov was widely expected to secure a new five-year term in the race, which is monitored by 63 observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as about 2,300 domestic inspectors.

According to Turkmen election law, the election is valid if the turnout exceeds 50 percent.