generalspeaking

Testing The Waters

Parliament was recalled by Egypt's new president.  In obvious defiance of the country's Supreme Court's ruling that the election that brought the members of parliament to their new elected status was not quite as it should be.  It was, in fact, in the instances cited, in contravention of the country's constitution; those elected as independents were in fact not, but rather members of the Salafist party and of The Muslim Brotherhood.  Giving the Brotherhood its at-long-last majority, alongside the other Islamist party.

But what's the point of being handed all the perquisites and power of the presidency, if you don't use them?  Even if, in so doing, you know, as President Mohammed Morsi most certainly would have, that he'd be treading on uneven ground.  So he decreed that the 508-seat chamber be reconvened.  In defiance of the military who have sworn to honourably uphold the Supreme Constitutional Court's ruling dissolving parliament.

Risky, a gamble, but one Mr. Morsi was willing to take.  A finely-tuned chess game. It was an assemblage strong on intent and weak on purpose.  Striking their note of independence for a full five minutes just to demonstrate, to prove their point, and then disassemble, point made.  That point being, what exactly?  Well, that they felt themselves to have been democratically elected, that a crafty little bypassing of the tedious rules needn't necessarily have ruled out the results of the election.

Yet, the Supreme Constitutional Court is to be respected.  It does speak of the rule of law, after all, and the Islamists cannot be seen to flout the rule of law; they insist that they are respecting of the law and the constitution, the old as well as the new yet to be constructed to everyone's satisfaction.  The tensions that have ensued between the Brotherhood and the old guard threaten, in fact, to destabilize the proceedings leading to the constitutional re-write.

And that would be to no one's advantage.  The country is in a state of urgency with stability sorely required to give confidence to the people, and to solve many of the problems that have erupted and intensified since the revolution of Egypt's Arab Spring.  Crime has soared and with it major disaffection with the status quo.  People are fed up with the street protests, with the stuttering economy and high unemployment, and sit-ins and strikes.

The brief parliamentary session did result in an agreement to seek a second opinion on the court's ruling.  Careful not to assume disrespect for the principles of "the supremacy of the law and separation of authorities", an approach was made to an appeals court, though it was not clear the appeals court would entertain a second guessing of the Supreme Court's disbandment of parliament.

President Morsi has been placed on notice by the military leaders with the advisement that the armed forces is fully on side with the "constitution, legitimacy and law".  The Supreme Court's ruling is not to be flaunted.  Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and his chief of staff are not averse to appearing at public gatherings such as military graduation ceremonies alongside President Morsi.

Each carefully and conscientiously circling their wagons.

Labels: Conflict, Democracy, Egypt, Heritage, Islamism, Political Realities

posted by Pieface @ Friday, July 13, 2012