Egyptian parliament defies military
Supporters of President Mohammed Morsi shout slogans during a rally in front of Egypt’s state council to give their support after a decree by Mr Morsi to reinstate the nation’s parliament yesterday.
The Islamist-dominated chamber convened in defiance of a ruling by the country’s highest court and swiftly voted to seek a legal opinion on the decision that invalidated the chamber over apparent election irregularities.
The politicians’ session lasted just five minutes, but it pushed Egypt deeper into a potential power struggle between the new president and the powerful military, which has vowed to uphold the judicial ruling that led to parliament being dissolved. Mr Morsi issued an order on Sunday to reverse a ruling by the military on June 15 to disband the chamber based on a previous ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court.