Analysis

Egypt: Pre-Election 'Coup' a Temporary Setback to Islamists
Egyptians gather in Cairo’s Tahrir Square today to protest yesterday’s decisions by Egypt’s highest court dissolving parliament and allowing former Mubarak prime minister Ahmed Shafiq to run in the June 16-17 presidential run-off election. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
June 15, 2012
| Security
| Middle East and North Africa
Summary
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Two surprise decisions by Egypt’s highest court yesterday appeared to be a power play by the interim military government and led Islamists to accuse the court of attempting a “legal coup.” The last-minute decisions spurred calls for a boycott of the presidential election because of fears of election fraud by the military. LIGNET believes the decisions are certain to shake up Egyptian politics but probably won’t end the dominance of Egyptian Islamists.
Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court threw the country’s political process into chaos by ruling that one-third of the Egyptian parliament had been elected illegally since party-backed candidates had run for seats reserved for independents. As a result, the court ordered the entire body dissolved and new elections held. In a separate decision, the court threw out a law passed by parliament barring former Mubarak official Ahmed Shafiq from running in the presidential run-off. The full implications of the decision dissolving parliament are not yet clear, although some experts speculated it could give all power to draft a new constitution to the military. 

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