Demonstrators packed the center of the Algerian capital and other main cities on Friday calling on the interim president, Abdelkader Bensalah, to quit a day after he called for dialogue aimed at fixing a new date for elections as soon as possible.
A vote planned for July 4 was canceled Sunday in the face of widespread protests as demonstrators who forced the ouster of veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April continued to demand a broad political overhaul.
Algeria's constitutional council said it was impossible to hold elections to choose a successor to Bouteflika after the only two candidates were rejected.
Bensalah on Thursday urged the political class and civil society to hold an "inclusive dialogue" aimed at fixing a new date for elections "as soon as possible".
But demonstrators who flooded central Algiers for the 16th consecutive Friday continued to demand change in the country, chanting "we're fed up with these rulers".
They also called on Bensalah and army chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah -- who has become the country's power broker -- to "clear off" as police deployed massively across the center of the capital.
The protesters have been staunchly against presidential polls being held as long as the ruling elite, which they accuse of having links to Bouteflika, remain in power.
"The only condition for dialogue is that the current rulers must all go," Maasi, a 26-year-old unemployed man who only gave his first name, said in response to Bensalah's call for talks as he took part in Friday's protest.
Hamid, a civil servant, added that any dialogue "should be with the real holder of power, and that means the army. Bensalah does not make the decisions".
While Gaid Salah had pushed for the polls, July 4 looked increasingly implausible as no major party nominated a candidate.
A major obstacle emerged when some mayors and magistrates said they would not take part in organizing the elections.
The two unknown figures who put themselves forward -- Abdelhakim Hamadi and Hamid Touahri -- had not been expected to gather the necessary 60,000 voter signatures to validate their bid for office.
