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Algerian interim president Abdelkader Bensalah announced on Sunday that the country will hold a presidential election on December 12 this year.
Algerian official APS news agency quoted Bensalah as saying in a televised speech to the nation that he has decided to set the date of the presidential election for December 12 this year, noting that "it's time for everybody to put the higher interests of the nation above any other considerations."
He added that he has signed a presidential decree on that issue in accordance with the constitutional and legislative provisions.
Bensalah called for making this event a starting point for Algeria's renovation process, to work jointly and effectively to make a success of this election as it will allow Algerians to vote for a new president meeting the legality requirements.
Bensalah said the presidential election is the only democratic solution, reiterating his commitment to "meeting all the conditions necessary for a free, fair and transparent presidential election."
Algerian upper house chairman Abdelkader Bensalah is pictured after being appointed as interim president by Algeria's parliament, following the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers, Algeria, April 9, 2019. /Reuters Photo
Weekly mass demonstrations forced veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April, leaving Algeria in constitutional limbo and facing a standoff between protesters and the army-backed government.
The authorities had canceled an election previously planned for July 4, citing a lack of candidates, amid mass protests demanding the departure of the rest of the old guard including Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.
But army chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah has repeatedly called for an election as soon as possible, despite the opposition and protesters rejecting a vote.
Earlier on Sunday authorities named an independent election authority to organize the vote to replace the interior ministry, which has been in charge of elections over the past years.
"This (election) body is a concrete response to demands from our people including those seeking a radical change of the system," Bensalah said, in apparent reference to protesters who have been staging weekly demonstrators since February 22.