DAMASCUS, June 3 -- Hassan Nouri, one of the three Syrian presidential candidates, said his country is witnessing a " big national victory" by holding the June 3 presidential vote.

After casting his ballot at a polling station in Sheraton Hotel in central Damascus, Nouri said to reporters that "we are witnessing a big national victory and a new dimension to Syria. Syria in the post-election era is a new Syria, with political plurality."

Meanwhile, the 54-year-old businessman admitted the "big popularity" of incumbent President Bashar al-Assad, but projected himself as a "strong competitor."

Nouri said that if he loses, he would remain "a good citizen," expressing optimism because "I have become a prominent figure in the Syrian political life."

Syria's one-day presidential election started Tuesday, with more than 15 million eligible and registered Syrian voters expected to cast their ballots for the country's three presidential contenders, including incumbent President Bashar al- Assad.

The Interior Ministry said 9,610 polling stations are available across the country amid reports that the government has also set up ballot boxes in displacement shelters to allow thousands of displaced Syrians to participate in the voting process.

The three candidates -- incumbent President al-Assad, former minister Hassan al-Nouri and lawmaker Maher Hajjar -- have put forth their electoral platforms that carry nearly the same political headlines with different visions on how to rescue the collapsed economy.

The election is the first of its kind held in half a century in Syria. Previously, there were only referendums to support Assad or his late father Hafez al-Assad who was in office from 1971 to 2000.

Nouri served as minister of administrative development and minister of state for parliamentary affairs from 2000 to 2002. He also served as the general secretary of the Chamber of Industry from 1997 to 2000, and was a member of the Syrian Parliament from 1998 to 2003.