A return of parliament for Egypt

According to Egypt’s official news agency, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s decision to dissolve the Islamist-dominated parliament is being recalled. An emergency meeting was held on Sunday by the country’s top generals to review and discuss the consequences of Morsi’s ruling.

Egypt’s highest court discovered that after parliament was dissolved last month, a third of parliament’s members were illegally elected.

Hosni Mubarak stepped down roughly 17 months ago after an uprising, which allowed the generals to gain power. On June 30^th, Morsi was formally handed power.

Morsi’s surprising move led to dispute with powerful generals. His decision also called for parliamentary elections, which were held within 60 days after the new constitution was put into place in Egypt. Both of Morsi’s decisions were unexpected.

Based on a ruling by the Supreme constitutional court, the country’s highest hearing, ruling military generals had decided to dissolve legislation last month.

On June 16^th, a constitutional declaration was announced by the military, which gave legislative powers even though parliament was dissolved. This took away much of Morsi’s power and gave generals more control over the creation of a new constitution and civilian oversight. 

Flickr photo by: Johnathan Rashad