Voters in the former Soviet Central Asian nation Tajikistan went to the polls to elect a parliament on Sunday.

Seven parties contested the 63 lower house seats in the Persian-speaking Muslim country of a population of nine million.

Bakhriyor Khudoyorzoda, the head of the Central Election Commission, said that by 15:00 local time (0900 GMT) 75.1 percent of voters had cast their ballots, ensuring the validity of the election.

Preliminary results of the vote are due on Monday.

The People's Democratic Party led by Rakhmon is holding 51 seats out of 63 seats.

This autumn, Tajikistan is expected to hold its presidential election. Rakhmon, who has run the country for a quarter of a century, has not said whether he plans to run again.

(With input from Reuters, AFP) 

(Cover: Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon arrives for a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) heads of state in Minsk, Belarus, November 30, 2017. /Reuters)