Islamabad, Ramadan 21, 1434, Jul 30, 2013, SPA - Polling to elect Pakistan's new president started on Tuesday as lawmakers arrived at their respective Assemblies. Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim paid a visit to the National Assembly while the poll was underway. Polling process was almost complete in Sindh Assembly where 69 out of 71 had been cast. The two remaining lawmakers, were abroad and will remain absent from the election proceedings. Similarly 75 votes were cast in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly, according to a report of Dawn News. Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Mamnoon Hussain also arrived at the National Assembly premises. Strict security arrangements were in place at the National Assembly, the four provincial assemblies and the Senate. The two contenders for the presidential race are Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) backed Mamnoon Hussain and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI's) Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed. The main opposition party in the National Assembly, the Pakistan People’s Party, had withdrawn its candidate and announced a boycott of the election over reservations on the decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to reschedule the poll. --SPA 11:35 LOCAL TIME 08:35 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1133415