Decree
to restore Egypt's parliament cancelled
Supreme
court issues ruling that overturns President Morsi's decision to
reconvene parliament until a constitution is ratified
10
July, 2012
Egypt's
highest court cancelled a decree by the country's Islamist president
to restore parliament on Tuesday.
The
supreme constitutional court issued a ruling that overturned
President Mohamed Morsi's decision to reconvene parliament until a
constitution is ratified and fresh elections are held.
The
court stated that it's initial decision on 14 June to dissolve the
assembly must be enforced and Morsi's decree was in violation of the
initial ruling.
"The
court ruled to halt the president's decision to recall the
parliament," judge Maher el-Beheiry said.
Earlier,
an anticipated confrontation between Egypt's newly elected president
and the military seemed to have been deflected after the defunct
parliament reconvened for all of five minutes.
Morsi,
of the Muslim Brotherhood, had issued a decree on Sunday ordering
parliament to reconvene, in defiance of the constitutional court's
ruling and a subsequent military decree ordering its dissolution.
The
parliamentary speaker, Saad el-Katatny, convened a session of the
lower house on Tuesday morning but it lasted only five minutes,
during which time he stressed that parliament had the utmost respect
for the law, and would do nothing to subvert it. MPs then voted that
parliament would refer the matter of its ability to convene to the
court of cassation in Cairo, and would not assemble until a judgment
had been given.
As
the drama was being played out, demonstrators against the dissolution
of parliament gathered in Tahrir Square. Meanwhile, anti-parliament
protesters congregated on the other side of town in the eastern
district of Nasr City to voice their objection to its return.
Tuesday's
assembly was boycotted by a sizable number of liberal MPs while an
independent MP, Mustafa Bakri, had already announced his formal
resignation from parliament due to its unconstitutionality.
Only
days before the runoff election last month that saw Morsi claim
victory as Egypt's first civilian and post-revolution president, the
supreme court had ruled that the manner in which parliament was
elected had been unconstitutional. The Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces (Scaf) then issued a decree ordering its dissolution, and
military vehicles and personnel surrounded the parliament building to
prevent MPs from entering.
The
issue became more contentious when Scaf issued a new constitutional
declaration hours after polls had closed, in which it gave itself
sweeping powers, including all legislative authority in the absence
of parliament.
The
dissolved parliament contained a Muslim Brotherhood majority through
its political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, of which Katatny
was a member and which Morsi used to head.
Morsi's
decree on Sunday had tried to circumvent the legal morass surrounding
parliament by directly addressing the Scaf declaration – issued
from a legislative position – and not the supreme court ruling.
The
supreme court judges issued a statement on Monday that their ruling
was binding and not subject to appeal. It urged all state authorities
not to contravene it. Scaf issued a statement urging Morsi to respect
the constitutional findings of the court.
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