HARARE, March 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Voting in the parliamentary election in Chinhoyi, about 120 km in the west of Harare kicked off as scheduled at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Thursday, with election officials reporting a heavy turnout at many polling centers in andaround the city.

    Only the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front(ZANU-PF) party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), out of five political parties taking part in the legislative election, are contesting the Chinhoyi seat.

    ZANU-PF is being represented by Faber Chidarikire, who replacedformer Mashonaland West provincial chairman Philip Chiyangwa in the race, and the MDC by Silas Matamisa, loser in the 2000 parliamentary poll.

    At Municipal Hall in the city, over 1,500 people queued to voteat the time voting began, and similarly high voter turnout was seen at Chaedza Primary School and Chemagamba Secondary School.

    Election officials said voters started queuing from 3 a.m. at some polling centers in Chinhoyi, a largely farming town in the north of the country.

    They said voting was proceeding smoothly, and no incidents of violence or violation of election rules, such as wearing of party campaign regalia, had been reported in and around the constituency.

    The election, largely pitting ZANU-PF against the MDC, is beingheld over one day in accordance with Southern African Development Community (SADC) principles and guidelines on democratic elections,which Zimbabwe has become the first member country to implement infull.

    Counting of ballots will begin after voting ends at 7 p.m. and this will be done at the polling centers, in conformity with SADC election norms, instead of regional command centers as in the past.

    Thousands of foreign observers and journalists are witnessing the election, Zimbabwe's sixth parliamentary poll since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980. Enditem