Egypt: Military council orders dissolution of parliament

On June 15, Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ordered the closure of parliament, following a ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court that the legislature was elected unconstitutionally.

Earlier in the day, the Egyptian Parliament Secretariat received an official notice from the ruling military council to immediately dissolve the body following a court ruling.

A protest in Egypt.

Al-Ahram newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying that the Secretary General of Parliament, Mr. Sami Mahran, had received a notice from the army banning anyone, except workers and parliamentary reporters, from entering the parliament building.

Security forces have been deployed around the parliament building to prevent people, including lawmakers, from entering the building without official notification.

On June 14, the Secretariat of the National Assembly announced the agenda for the coming week for MPs, which will include a discussion of the decision of the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court had earlier declared Egypt's parliamentary election law unconstitutional. The ruling means that both houses of the country's parliament will be dissolved before new elections are held.

An Egyptian judicial source said on June 15 that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will take over legislative power and control the state budget until the North African country elects a new parliament.

This source cited Article 56 of the Constitutional Declaration issued by SCAF in March 2011, affirming that the armed forces have broad powers to run the country's affairs during the transition period, following the collapse of the government of former President Hosni Mubarak.

This article lists 10 powers that the SCAF controlled during this period, including the power to appoint the prime minister and cabinet ministers, the power to appoint civil and military officials, and the power to legislate and decide on national budget matters.

On June 15, the Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Saad El-Katatny, said that the court's decision was politically motivated. Mr. El-Katatny affirmed that the parliament had not received the Supreme Constitutional Court's decision on the dissolution of the two houses of parliament. He implied that the court's decision was politically motivated.

In a statement posted on the official website of the Muslim Brotherhood's FJP, Mr. El-Katatny also accused the press of waging war against the parliament in the past few months. He said the Muslim Brotherhood had discussed the next steps, including the organization's presidential candidate, Mohamed Morsy, continuing to run in the second round on June 16./.

According to (TTXVN)- DT