The turnout on the first day of early voting for the March 9 presidential election reached an all-time high of 17-point-57 percent.

More than seven-point-76 million people out of some 44 million eligible voters had cast their ballots when booths closed at 6 p.m. on Friday. 

The turnout is the highest for Day One of early voting since the nation introduced the system for national elections in 2014. 

The comparable figure in the previous presidential election in May 2017 stood at eleven-point-seven percent. 

Experts speculate that overall turnout for two days of early voting may top 30 percent. 

Early voting will continue on Saturday at some 35-hundred polling stations across the nation. 

Eligible voters will be able to cast their ballots at any of three-thousand-552 polling stations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday after presenting a government-issued photo ID.