Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi has given a deadline of July 2012 for presidential elections in Egypt.
In a move certain to infuriate the thousands of supporters gathered in Tahrir Square, the leader of the acting military government addressed the nation on state TV, offering assurances that an election would be held before 30 June.
He made no mention of the transfer of power.
Earlier, protesters gathered in central Cairo for a "one million-man march" as demonstrations against the ruling military council continue into a fourth day.
Around 30,000 demonstrators assembled in Tahrir Square, with more expected to join in the hope of forcing the military to speed up the promised transition to civilian power.
Placing further pressure on Egypt's interim rulers, an Amnesty International report published on Tuesday, said the military had failed "to live up their promises to Egyptians to improve human rights".
It also accused the regime of subjecting women to "horrific" torture at the hands of the Egyptian Army, including electric shock treatments and virginity tests.
The Amnesty report also detailed how violations of human rights rife under Mubarak, including the use of torture and the banning of criticism of the government, have continued under the new regime.
"The euphoria of the uprising has been replaced by fears that one repressive rule has simply been replaced with another," it said.
Three days of clashes between security forces and protesters have left 35 reportedly dead and at least 1,200 injured, while the continued violence has thrown next week's parliamentary elections into doubt.
The demonstrators fear the military leaders, who took control after Mubarak's fall, intend to hold on to power, regardless of the election results.
On Monday, Egypt's interim civilian leadership, offered the supreme council of the armed forces (SCAF), their resignation in the hope of quelling the violence. It remains unclear whether the resignations were accepted.
"All I ask of the people is that they leave, calm down," Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said outside the government headquarters on Tuesday.
Despite the plea, protesters have braved tear gas to assemble in the square.
On Monday night, fighting in the streets around Tahrir Square raged, as young men aligned with the anti-government protests battled against security forces near the Ministry of the Interior.