Up to 13.11 percent of the electorate have cast their votes in Algeria's presidential elections until noon, according to the initial tallies. The balloting proportion abroad reached 16.18 percent of the eligible voters of the Algerians in the diaspora. said Mohammad Sharif, the head of the National Independent Authority Elections, in a press statement. He estimated number of the Algerians who cast their ballots at more than three million, affirming that these results were preliminary. Sharif put number of the registered voters at more than 24.351 million, including 47 percent women and 53 male voters Shortly earlier, the incumbent president Abdelmajid Tebboune stated after casting his vote that the electoral process was flawless. He expressed hope that the balloting would proceed without any blemish, saying that the election "is a key crossroad" in the nation's political history. Tebboune, who himself may retain the top post, also hoped that the winner would pursue the march for attaining economic develop ment and building "real democracy." For his part, Algerian Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui called on voters to partake "strongly" in the election which began earlier in the day with three candidates, including the incumbent president Tebboune. Speaking in a press statement following casting his vote in the poll in Dely Ibrahim City, Larbaoui said the election is held amid "extreme" tension on both regional and international levels that requires the involvement of society in this path. He called on Algerian male and female voters inside and outside the country to take part in the election which is paramount for the country's "democratic path". He expressed his trust that the Algerian people would pick up the candidate who could ensure the stability and progress of Algeria. Larbaoui commended the efforts of the National Independent Authority for Elections' (ANIE) members.. According to the authority's statistics, about 24 million Algerian people, 47 percent of whom are females, can cast their votes and choos e their upcoming president for a five-year term. The three competitors in the poll are Socialist Forces Front's Youcef Aouchiche, independent Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and head of Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) Abdelaali Hassani Cherif. Algerians headed to polling stations on Saturday to cast their votes and choose their upcoming president for a five-year term. Polling station doors opened at 8 a.m. and would remain open until 7 p.m. with a possibility for extending for one more hour should it be necessary. Source: Kuwait News Agency