People in Sudan are going to the polls in an election that is expected to extend incumbent President Omar al-Bashir’s 25-year rule.

Polls opened in Sudan’s presidential and parliamentary elections on Monday morning.

Main opposition parties in the country of almost 38 million people have boycotted the three-day elections, in which 13.3 million people are registered to vote.

Bashir, 71, who seized power in a 1989 coup, is competing with 15 little-known candidates in the vote.

Forty-four parties are also running for the state and national parliaments, which are likely to be dominated by Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

Some 70,000 police officers have reportedly been positioned at nearly 7,000 polling stations across the country to prevent potential chaos.

The voting process is being monitored by 15 international organizations, including the Arab League and the African Union, according to Sudan’s National Election Commission.

However, the European Union (EU) and the United States have already said the elections cannot produce a credible result because Bashir’s NCP refused last month to hold a meeting with the opposition to organize national dialogue.

Polling stations will close at 6:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT). The counting process is expected to begin on Thursday and the election results are expected to be announced in late April.