Egyptian Court Dissolves Parliament

Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court issued two momentous rulings Thursday that analysts in Washington and Cairo describe as amounting to a soft coup, writes Laura Rozen. The court effectively called for the dissolving of Egypt's recently-elected legislatures just days before the anticipated run-off elections. 
Egyptian military police stand guard outside the Supreme Constitutional Court, where a decision is expected on the validity of the law passed by the Islamist-led parliament that sought to bar Ahmed Shafik, Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, from the vote pitting him against the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy, in Cairo June 14, 2012. Shafik got the green light to continue his bid for Egypt's presidency on Thursday when a constitutional court ruled against a law that would have thrown him out of the rac
Egyptian military police stand guard outside the Supreme Constitutional Court, just before a decision that essentially dissolved Parliament, and allowed Ahmed Shafiq to stay in the presidential race. June 14, 2012. - REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Laura Rozen
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Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court issued two momentous rulings Thursday that analysts in Washington and Cairo describe as amounting to a soft coup.

The court ruled that one-third of Egypt's parliamentary seats should be voided, thus effectively calling for the dissolving of Egypt's recently-elected legislature. It also ruled that former Mubarak-regime prime minister Ahmed Shafiq be allowed to stand in Egyptian presidential run-off elections, scheduled to be held June 16-17th.

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