Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsy has ordered the reinstatement of his country’s Parliament — a move that is expected to kick-start a new round of skirmishes with the military top brass, which had earlier dissolved the people’s assembly.
Mr. Morsy issued a presidential decree on Sunday asking the dissolved lower house to resume its legislative work. The decree said fresh parliamentary elections would be held within 60 days of the ratification of a new constitution. A 100-member constituent assembly has been appointed to draft a new constitution, but its longevity is still uncertain as the military has reserved the power to intervene in its functioning.
The new presidential order is expected to rankle the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) — the military group that took charge of government after an uprising removed former strongman Hosni Mubarak.
Dismantled
SCAF had dismantled the Islamist dominated People's Assembly in mid-June, following a ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court, which said that the election of one-third of the law makers to parliament was unconstitutional. Many activists had said that SCAF’s action amounted to a “military coup”.
