Balloting started Sunday in the first round of Comoros' presidential election.

Voters will also cast their votes for the governors of the Grande-Comore, Anjouan and Moheli islands. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over 300,000 registered voters will vote in 731 polling stations across the archipelagos of Comoros.

Voters will choose their president from 13 candidates, including the incumbent, Azali Assoumani, and 22 other contenders are competing for the governorship of the three autonomous islands.

Incumbent president Azali Assoumani is widely expected to win another term.Tensions are already high in the mainly-Muslim Indian Ocean archipelago. They were exacerbated last year by a referendum that gave Assoumani sweeping powers. The opposition boycotted the vote.