Election officers make final checks of the ballot box before the polls open in Gaborone, Botswana, Oct. 24, 2014. General elections kicked off Friday in Botswana to elect a new parliament and a president. (Xinhua/Lu Tianran)

GABORONE, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- General elections kicked off Friday in Botswana to elect a new parliament and a president.

The polling stations are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. (0430 to 1700 GMT) for a total of 824,073 registered voters to elect 57 members of the National Assembly and 490 council members for local governments.

The ruling Botswana Democratic Party, which has been in power since independence in 1966, is widely expected to secure a comfortable victory for its candidate, incumbent President Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

Major challenge comes from the Umbrella for Democratic Change, a coalition of various parties.

The ruling party won 45 out of the 57 parliament seats during the general elections in 2009.

Observers from the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the European Union are in the country to observe the elections.

Botswana is among Africa's most politically stable countries. It is also one of the world's biggest diamond producers and preserves some of the continent's largest areas of wilderness.