Egypt's President Orders Return of Parliament

Egypt's new president moved Sunday to reconvene a parliament that was dissolved last month, according to Egyptian state media, in what amounts to the president's most aggressive assault yet against the lingering power of the former ruling military regime.

President Mohammed Morsi, a former leader in the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, said that the parliament, which was elected this past winter, would serve until new parliamentary elections, which are set to be held 60 days after a constituent assembly finishes work on the country's new constitution—a process that could take months.

The presidential decree effectively attempts to snatch back legislative authority from military leaders who dissolved parliament last month and claimed lawmaking privileges for themselves in a constitutional declaration issued only two weeks ago. The military's decision followed a verdict by the Supreme Constitutional Court, which decided on June 14 that parts of a law governing parliamentary elections were unconstitutional. If the parliament does indeed reconvene, it will meet on Tuesday for the first time in nearly one month.

Yet it was unclear on Sunday evening whether the military would yield to Mr. Morsi's decision or lead Egypt's nascent civilian-led democracy into a full-blown constitutional crisis. Even after the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, handed executive power to the country's first ever freely elected president in a ceremony late last month, the ill-defined political system the military left behind has allowed competing political forces to write and rewrite the rules of the game.

The lingering legal confusion exposes the faulty foundation on which the military leadership built Egypt's new democracy.

Returning parliamentarians to their seats is the latest broadside in a continuing tit-for-tat power struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood on one side and the military and the judiciary on the other.

In the past several months, both sides have used the arcane legal maneuvers and street protests in a bitter struggle for political power.

Adding to the uncertainty, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court is set to rule on Monday on the legality of the SCAF's decision to disband parliament. Like the Supreme Constitutional Court that dissolved parliament last month, judges on the administrative court are known to have loyalties to Egypt's ousted regime.

"What happens if the Supreme Administrative Court decides that the military is the executive authority and they had the right to do this?" said Michael Hanna, an Egypt expert and fellow at the New York based Century Foundation. "This has the makings of a real constitutional crisis."

Mr. Morsi's move appeared to catch both the SCAF and Egypt's high court by surprise. The generals held an emergency meeting to discuss the announcement on Sunday evening and the Supreme Constitutional Court said it would hold an emergency meeting on Monday, according to the state news agency.

Shortly after Mr. Morsi's decision was announced, Brotherhood leaders rushed to portray the decree as an unassailable presidential prerogative.

Despite that the Supreme Constitutional Court's June 14 ruling, it was the military that made the politicized decision to sack a parliament that was crowded with Islamist politicians, particularly from the Muslim Brotherhood, said Rashad Al Bayoumi, a Brotherhood leader and close confidant of Mr. Morsi.

Egyptian courts had dissolved parliament twice under the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, but each required public approval in a nationwide referendum. When the military dissolved parliament last month, they did it without a referendum, noted Assam Abdel Gabar, an Egyptian judge.

As the new executive, Mr. Morsi has the power to reinstate parliament wielding the same legal weapons the SCAF first used to dissolve it, said Mr. Gabar.

And by pledging to hold new parliamentary elections—presumably under new rules consistent with the constitution—Mr. Morsi has actually reinforced the high court's decision, Brotherhood leaders said.

"During these critical times, it's normal that a country will need authority for making laws," Mr. Bayoumi said. "This is normal for a president to determine the different authorities of the state."

Yet even if the courts rule the military did exceed its bounds, the ruling officers issued a constitutional declaration shortly before leaving office that endowed them with legislative powers until the election of a new parliament.

Determining whether such a constitutional declaration lies beyond the remit of Egypt's presidency could create yet another destabilizing point of contention.