South Korea kicks off general election for 300 lawmakers

South Korean President Park Geun-hye casts her ballot at a polling station in Seoul, in this handout picture provided by the Presidential Blue House and released by News1 on April 13, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

SEOUL -- South Korea on Wednesday kicked off general election nationwide to elect 300 lawmakers to parliament, Seoul's election commission said.

The country's 20th general election started at 6 a.m. local time (2100 GMT Tuesday) at 13,837 polling stations nationwide, according to the National Election Commission.

The election will last until 6 p.m.. Who will be elected in 253 electoral districts is expected to be made distinct at about 10 p.m., four hours after tallying the votes.

A total of 253 lawmakers will be chosen through candidate votes, with the remaining 47 to be selected via a political party voting in proportional representation.

The ruling Saenuri Party put out a total of 248 candidates for the election with 268 candidates registered as candidates for the main opposition Minju Party. The minor People's Party and the Justice Party registered 172 candidates and 65 candidates each for the election.

The governing party aimed to gain more than 150 parliamentary seats, and the Minju Party targeted more than 100 seats. The People's Party and the Justice Party aimed to elect 40 and 10 lawmakers respectively to the parliament.