Dissolved parliament reconvenes in Egypt

CAIRO – The power struggle between Egypt’s newly elected Islamist president and the military has escalated, with lawmakers defying a court order and reconvening the dissolved parliament, marking another disturbing political twist over the future of a nation still tangled in the legacy of Hosni Mubarak.

The Islamist-dominated parliament’s brief session Tuesday was a symbolic victory for President Mohammed Morsi, who had ordered it to meet despite a recent court ruling that disbanded the chamber over electoral violations. The legitimacy of parliament remains in question, but its brief return fit into Morsi’s strategy to regain powers the military stripped from the presidency last month.

The larger battle is framed by decades-long mistrust between the Muslim Brotherhood and the secular military. The Brotherhood controls nearly 50 percent of parliament, and with Morsi, who ran as the group’s candidate in the presidential election, Islamists see a landmark moment to advance their religious agenda.

The generals – many of them appointed by longtime autocratic leader Mubarak – have been maneuvering to stanch such ambitions in a political standoff that could play out for years.

Parliament speaker Saad Katatni was careful not to further incite the army or the Supreme Constitutional Court at the minutes-long legislative session. He offered a compromise based on the court ruling that 30 percent of the seats, which were designated for independent candidates, were improperly elected. The parliament, Katatni said, may consider dissolving one-third of its seats and hold new elections for them.

It is uncertain whether the military, which recently granted itself all legislative and many executive powers, will accept Katatni’s logic.

The speaker also said the 508-seat parliament will not meet again until after it receives a decision on its appeal of the court’s ruling.

The matter was further complicated late Tuesday when the high court suspended as essentially illegal Morsi’s decree to recall parliament. Morsi’s office called the suspension order “invalid and null.”

A separate administrative court is also expected to rule on the case next week, leaving politicians and legal experts exasperated over what is exactly unfolding in an increasingly messy transition to democracy.

The generals had warned Morsi and the parliament not to defy the court order. But the army also appeared to want to avoid confrontation. Soldiers did not block lawmakers from entering the parliament building, as they had done in the past.

The scenario appeared to fit the perplexing pattern of the nation’s politics – despite clear-cut decrees and court decisions, everything is negotiable.