Damascus (dpa) - Vote tallying continued Monday in Syria after people cast their ballots to choose a new parliament for the war-torn and economically troubled country.

The election took place in Syria on Sunday without any real opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's Baath party.

"Mainly 90 percent of the counting of ballots in major areas has finished," a member in the election committee told dpa.

It's the country's third such poll since a pro-democracy uprising erupted against al-Assad in 2011.

The one-day vote had been postponed twice since April due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Voter turnout was sluggish in different government-controlled areas, local witnesses said.

The polls, which opened at 7 am, were extended by four hours to last until 11 pm at all polling stations, the election commission said.

The vote was also held in areas where the government has only partial control, such as Idlib in Syria's north-west and al-Raqqa in the north.

The elections come more than a month after new sanctions imposed by the United States came into effect on key figures in the Syrian regime and amid a deepening economic crisis.

Some 1,656 candidates, including 200 women, are standing for the 250-strong parliament, SANA reported. Most contenders belong to the ruling Baath party and loyal groups. Official results are expected by Tuesday.

Al-Assad's Baath Party and its allies are anticipated to win the majority of seats in the parliament elected for a four-year mandate.