DAMASCUS, June 3 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared in the capital Damascus Tuesday to participate in the one- day presidential vote, according to the state-run Syrian TV.

Assad cast his ballot at a polling station setup in a school in the upscale neighborhood of al-Maliki, said the report, spelling no further details.

The presidential vote kicked off Tuesday morning despite the opposition rebels' threats of attacks.

People have started pouring into polling stations to participate in the first ever multi-candidate poll in Syria's modern history.

Assad, who is competing with former minister of state for administrative development Hassan Nouri and legislator Maher Hajjar, is highly expected to win a third 7-year term in office as his other competitors are little known publicly and thus have no popular ground.