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April 11 (UPI) -- Algeria's newly appointed interim leader set July 4 to hold the presidential election following last week's resignation of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Senate leader Abdelkader Bensalah, 77, made the televised announcement Wednesday, according to state-run media Algeria Press Service, which comes a day after Algerian lawmakers appointed him the nation's interim president for the next 90 days.
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Bensalah, who is unable to run in the election, also announced plans to create a "sovereign" body with both politicians and civil society in order to foster conditions necessary for an honest election process, Al Jazeera reported.
The announcement failed to placate protesters who have held mass demonstrations since February demanding a change in the country's leadership.
The protests first erupted after Bouteflika's announcement in late February that he would be running for a fifth term.
The 82-year-old Bouteflika, who had held tight to the reigns of his country since 1999, resigned April 2, after Algeria's army chief said it would pursue a constitutional procedure to declare the ailing president unfit to rule.
Despite Bouteflika's resignation, protests persisted as the public worried the country's rule would only shift to another member of the same regime, and Bensalah's appointment did little to assuage those concerns as he had served as speaker of the council under Bouteflika.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior, Local Authorities and National Planning announced through the state-run Algeria Press Service Wednesday that it had authorized 10 political parties and 22 national and inter-provincial associations.
The ministry said it had examined files on the different parties and associations on a case-by-case basis and allowed 10 political parties "to hold their constituent congresses in accordance with the provisions of the organic law on political parties" while "certificates of approval have been issued to 22 national and inter-provincial associations."
