Algerians awaited the outcome Friday of a widely unpopular presidential election marred by attacks on polling stations and the lowest turnout in the countrys history. On polling day Thursday, protesters defied a heavy police presence to hold a mass rally in the heart of the capital Algiers and smaller demonstrations in provincial cities. The electoral authority said its chairman Mohamed Charfi would release the results at 11 am (1000 GMT), an announcement that could prompt tens of thousands of election opponents to pour out onto the streets in new protests. The election had been championed by the army as a way of restoring stability almost 10 months into a protest movement that in April ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades in office. All five of the candidates in Thursdays vote were widely rejected by protesters as "children of the regime". Among them are two of the ousted leaders former prime ministers -- Abdelmajid Tebboune, 74, and Ali Benflis, 75 -- and a former minister, Azzedine Mihoubi. If none of the five hopefuls wins a majority, Algerians will be asked to return to the polls on a date still to be set between December 31 and January 9 for a second-round runoff that could trigger further unrest. No exit polls were published but a spokesman for Tebboune said his candidate had won an outright majority. On Thursday, a record six in 10 Algerians abstained, Charfi said, the highest rate for a multi-party election since independence from France in 1962. Tens of thousands rallied in central Algiers, where police with water cannon and helicopters tried to disperse protesters. After dark, witnesses reported ongoing scuffles between police and protesters in the Belouizdad neighborhood close to the city center. In the mountain region of Kabylie, home to much of the countrys Berber minority and historically opposed to the central government, protesters ransacked polling stations and clashed with police, residents said. In the city of Bejaia, two polling stations were attacked. In Tizi Ouzou, security forces fired teargas to disperse a crowd who had surrounded a government building, triggering a standoff into the night in which several people were wounded. In central Algiers, young protesters slammed those casting their ballots as "traitors of the nation". Other voters said they had turned out because after nearly a year of turmoil it was time for a return to stability. On Thursday, a record six in 10 Algerians abstained, Charfi said, the highest rate for a multi-party election since independence from France in 1962. Whoever wins will struggle to be accepted by the electorate in Algeria, where many citizens see the government as inept, corrupt and unable to manage the flagging economy. The "Hirak" street movement kicked off when Bouteflika announced in February that he would seek a fifth term in office. Protesters have stayed on the streets ever since, demanding the total dismantling of the system that has ruled Algeria since independence. Demonstrators have vented their anger at army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has emerged as Algerias de facto strongman since Bouteflika stepped down. A previous poll set for July was scrapped for lack of viable candidates and interim president Abdelkader Bensalahs term technically ended five months ago.