CAIRO: Egypt's supreme court ruled yesterday to dissolve the conservative-led Parliament, plunging a troubled transition to democracy into turmoil just two days before an election to replace ousted leader Hosni Mubarak.
The country’s highest court overruled a law passed by Parliament that would have barred top Hosni Mubarak-era figures from politics. It also said some rules for an earlier parliamentary election violated the constitution.
Conservative politicians who had gained most from Mubarak's overthrow decried what they called a "coup" by an army-led establishment still stuffed with Mubarak-era officials. They said the street movement would not let it pass.
Outside the court, protesters chanted "Down, down with military rule" and hurled stones at troops lined up in a security cordon. The protesters outside the court demanded that the judges block the presidential bid by Shafiq, a man they derisively call a member of the "feloul", or a remnants of Mubarak's regime.
The religious bloc’s parliamentary gains will now be put back up for grabs in a new election.
“If Parliament is dissolved, the country will enter a dark tunnel — the coming president will face neither a Parliament nor a constitution,” Erian told Reuters by telephone. “There is a state of confusion and many questions.”
The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, could stay in the presidential race against the Brotherhood's Muhammad Mursi.
“The ruling must be respected,” Mursi said. “This ruling does not dissolve Parliament,” he added, saying that it only applied to a third of the members of the assembly.
Shafiq welcomed the court rulings that void a parliamentary vote and allow him to contest the country’s leadership, saying an “era of political score settling” was over.
“The message of this historic verdict is that the era of political score settling has ended,” Shafiq told cheering supporters in Cairo. “The constitutional court has confirmed my right to participate in the election and reinforced the legitimacy of this election.”
The Muslim Brotherhood said it would continue in the presidential election
“It’s a reality now, and we must deal with it as such,” said Mahmoud Ghozlan, spokesman for the Brotherhood.
Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, who took part in the first round of the presidential vote in May, said that dissolving Parliament amounted to a “complete coup”.
The Salafist Al-Nur party, which has the second biggest representation in Parliament, said the ruling showed “a complete disregard for the free will of voters”.
The head of the supreme court Farouk Soltan told Reuters: “The ruling regarding Parliament includes the dissolution of the lower house of Parliament in its entirety because the law upon which the elections were held is contrary to rules of the constitution.”
There was a large security operation outside the court as demonstrators gathered for the judgment.
A barbed-wire fence was constructed around the court grounds to keep protesters out. Rows of police in riot gear stood guard.
Many demonstrators shouted slogans and held posters demanding that Shafiq be disqualified.
One activist, Mohamed Abdel Quodous, said Shafiq should be disqualified because he was considered a “remnant of the old guard” and was a “humiliation to Egypt and its revolution.”
