LA PAZ, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia's National Electoral Court at 7:00 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) Sunday declared the opening of 1,750 voting stations across the country for the general elections.

    The voting was scheduled to end at 16:00 (2000 GMT) and a non-official result will be released at 18:00 (2200 GMT) before the official preliminary results.

    More than 5 million people have registered for the polls to choose their new president, whose mandate lasts for five years beginning on Jan. 22, 2010. Meanwhile, the voters will also cast their votes for a vice-president, 130 deputies and 36 senators.

    There are eight presidential candidates. As for three leading candidates, the incumbent president Evo Morales, candidate of the Movement Toward Socialism, has gained more than 55 percent of support, according to the latest public opinion polls.

    Conservative candidate Manfred Reyes Villa from the opposition Progress Plan Party has garnered over 20 percent of votes, followed by Samuel Doria Medina, candidate of the National Unity Front, who trailed in the third place with about some 11 percent.

    It is reported that more than 30,000 policemen and about 15,000military forces have been deployed nationwide for the security of the elections.

Backgrounder: Key facts about Bolivian general elections

Profile: Bolivia's leading presidential candidates