YEREVAN -- Voting began on Sunday in Armenia's parliamentary elections, with more than 2.48 million registered voters eligible to cast ballots at 2,005 polling stations across the country.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 am local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 8:00 pm local time.

According to the Central Electoral Commission, 18 parties and alliances, fielding nearly 2,000 candidates, are competing for seats in the National Assembly, Armenia's unicameral legislative body.

"I want our country to develop, for everything to go well in the future, and for our younger generation to have a more inspiring and motivating future," local voter Goar Vartanian told Xinhua after casting her ballot at a polling station.

Armenia's National Assembly is elected through a proportional electoral system for a five-year term. It consists of at least 101 deputies, with the final number of seats to be defined following the election results. The last parliamentary elections were held on June 20, 2021.