Morsi reconvened parliament using presidential powers, not a deal with the military

Egyptian writer and journalist Saleem Azzouz has described as a “brave decision” President Mohammed Morsi’s decree ordering parliament to reconvene in defiance of the Military Council’s dissolution order. Azzouz said that Morsi’s decision was made in accordance with the powers conferred by the constitution to the president and not as a result of a deal with the military.

In an exclusive statement to Quds Press, Azzouz said he believed that Morsi’s decision to reconvene parliament is entirely in harmony with the Egyptian revolution. “President Morsi exercised his powers because the parliament came about through the free popular will, and when he called for the parliament to reconvene he used his constitutional powers to invalidate the decision issued by the Military Council, which had no legal basis.” When, he added, the elected president reverses a decision, which was actually an abuse of power, it is a natural result of the revolution and legitimate institutions that came out of it.

Morsi’s decree also confirmed that new parliamentary elections will be held after the new constitution, which is still at the drafting stage, has been approved by a referendum. “This means that the president did not clash with the Supreme Constitutional Court, although its ruling was clearly a political one par excellence,” said Azzouz.

Asked if he thought that there was a deal between Morsi and the Military Council regarding the recall of parliament, Azzouz said that as far as he knows, there was no such deal. “In any case, the military wouldn’t agree to something which signs its political death warrant,” he claimed.

“Moreover, the meeting of the Council on Sunday confirms that it was taken by surprise at Morsi’s move.” Given that the military has manoeuvred a lot in order to extend the transition period, he stressed, and it only gave in and set a date for the presidential election thanks to revolutionary pressure, “President Morsi’s decision is not only brave but also an exercise of the powers granted to him by the constitution”.