Chechen voters started casting their ballots Sunday morning to elect a parliament as tens of thousands of police and security forces fanned out to ensure a smooth ballot in the war-ravaged region.

A total of 600,000 voters have been registered in Chechnya for the polls, which will elect 58 deputies to the bicameral parliament -- the 18-seat Republican Council (upper house) and the 40-seat People's Assembly (lower house). The election has drawn 342 candidates from eight parties.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 AM (05:00 GMT) amid heightened security in the volatile region, where separatist rebels have frequently targeted security forces as well as civilians in bombing attacks for much of the past decade, Russian news agencies reported.

The Interior Ministry has deployed 24,000 police and troops to provide security on the election day, the Itar-Tass news agency said.

A regional Interior Ministry official told Itar-Tass that no breach of order or incidents had occurred by 1:00 PM (10:00 GMT)."Metal detectors have been set up at the entrance to each polling station to prevent weapons and explosives from being carried into the building," a ministry official told Itar-Tass on the eve of the election.

Chechen President Alu Alkhanov pronounced the poll valid about four hours into voting, citing reports of voter turnout reaching the threshold for validity.

"Based on reports we have received from the heads of districts and territorial election commissions, I can officially announce that the Chechen parliamentary elections are valid," Alkhanov told Interfax on Sunday.

Voter turnout had exceeded 25 percent by 2 PM (11:00 GMT) and the voting was proceeding quietly, said Alkhanov. The polls will close at 3 PM (15:00 GMT) and preliminary results are expected no earlier than Monday.

President Vladimir Putin has called the parliamentary election a "milestone" that will boost stability in the republic and the whole North Caucasus region.

About 20 observers from international groups including the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States visited polling stations to monitor the vote.

Alkhanov met with international observers Sunday, saying the election will "confirm Chechnya's path of construction, peace and cooperation with those who share these guidelines." "Democratic processes in the republic will become more dynamic, as we will have the power body crowning the republican statehood," Alkhanov said.

Chechnya's First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov wanted the parliament to focus on ending war in the republic. "We have a goal of termination of the warfare. Our mission will be complete when shooting ceases and abductions stop," Kadyrov said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2005)