The Algerian parliament appointed Tuesday upper house chairman Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president amid an opposition boycott. Out of a total of 604 MPS, only 470 lawmakers attended the meeting.
Bensalah will serve as president for the next 90 days following the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Bensalah will run the country until new elections are held, according to the North African country's constitution.
Protesters, who are demanding sweeping democratic reforms, are opposed to figures like Bensalah, a close associate of Bouteflika and his inner circle who dominated Algeria for decades.
As per the Algerian constitution, Bensalah will remain interim president until new elections are held.
"We must work to allow the Algerian people elect their president as soon as possible," Bensalah told parliament.
Protesters soon took to the street to rally against the appointment.
“Appointing Bensalah will fuel anger and it could radicalize the protesters,” said taxi driver Hassen Rahmine as crowds gathered in central Algiers.
On Friday -- in the first weekly protest since Bouteflika announced his departure after losing the military's support -- Algerians demanded regime stalwarts be excluded from the political transition.
Three men in particular have drawn ire: Bensalah, head of the constitutional council Tayeb Belaiz and prime minister Noureddine Bedoui.
Mass protests have led to the disintegration of what has been described as the ruling elite’s “fortress” - veterans of the war of independence against France, ruling party figures, businessmen, the army and labor unions.
But Algerians have been pushing for more radical change since Bouteflika’s allies abandoned him in the weeks leading up to his resignation last week.
They are unwilling to compromise in their demand for a new generation of leaders in the North African country, which has failed to create jobs and improve living standards despite vast oil and natural gas resources.
“You go means you go,” read banners at the protest in central Algiers, which ended in the late afternoon.
At one point, police briefly turned water cannon to disperse protesters.
The critical question is how Algeria’s military - long seen as a highly effective backstage player in politics - will react to Bensalah’s appointment and any opposition that arises.
“I thank the army and all security services for their work,” Bensalah told parliament after his appointment.
Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gaid Salah carefully managed Bouteflika’s exit after declaring him unfit to stay in power and expressed support for protesters, who have put up little resistance to the military.
Hours after parliament made its choice, Salah said the military will do more to ensure peace for the Algerian people, the state news agency APS reported.
“All in all, the way in which the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic has been filled does not bring our country closer to the end of the crisis,” said Ali Benflis, leader of the opposition Talae El Houriyet party.
“By maintaining the old guard like Bensalah, the system will be responsible for any bad consequences. We will not give in,” said student protester Djilali Chemime, 27.
