Polling stations across Australia opened on Saturday morning for the country’s general election, which will determine the composition of the 48th Federal Parliament, with millions of voters expected to cast their ballots.

More than 7,000 polling stations opened their doors at 8:00 a.m. local time, under the supervision of the Australian Electoral Commission, in one of the few democracies in the world where voting is compulsory by law.

Despite official voting beginning today, a record number of 8 million voters out of 18 million eligible citizens had already cast their ballots during early voting periods.

Polls are scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m. local time, after which vote counting will begin, with preliminary results expected later in the evening.

Abroad, the Australian Foreign Ministry announced that tens of thousands of Australians are expected to vote at designated polling stations in 83 countries, reflecting strong international participation in this national election.