After almost 10 months of political turmoil, Algerians began to cast their votes in presidential elections on Thursday. 

All 61,000 polling stations around the North African country opened as planned at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), the official APS news agency reported. 

Five candidates are in the running. Turnout was expected to be low after demonstrators shouting "no vote" again pressed their demand for a boycott on the eve of the polls, facing off with truncheon-wielding riot police in Algiers. 

Polls were scheduled to close at 1800 GMT but the result may not be announced until Friday, as it was after previous elections already marked by high abstention rates. 

The "Hirak" street movement kicked off when former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, announced in February he would seek a fifth term in office. 

Bouteflika was ousted in April after two decades in office. 

Since then, protesters have stayed on the streets for more than 40 weeks, demanding the total dismantling of the system that has ruled Algeria since independence from France in 1962. 

Protests have been illegal in Algiers since 2001 and police have only tolerated weekly Hirak protests on Fridays and student marches on Tuesdays. 

(With input from AFP)