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                       Egyptian Court Ruling Ignites Fury

   by Elizabeth Arrott

   CAIRO - Tempers flared and protesters took to the streets after Egypt's
   constitutional court issued twin rulings that sparked anger and
   confusion just days ahead of a presidential run-off election.
   Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court Thursday rejected a parliamentary
   law that barred ex-officials of fallen dictator Hosni Mubarak from
   running for office, clearing the way for his former prime minister,
   Ahmed Shafiq, to compete in an upcoming presidential election runoff.
   Shafiq placed second to the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, Mohamed
   Morsi, in the first round of voting in late May.
   The court also ruled that one-third of the Egyptian legislature was
   elected illegally, making the entire parliament unconstitutional. As a
   result, a court spokesman said, the lower house of parliament -- the
   People's Assembly -- must be dissolved.
   Anger in the streets
   Protesters outside the court were furious at the rulings. Many in the
   crowd called the move a political decision aimed at keeping the old
   system in place, and some Islamist politicians said the rulings
   amounted to a military coup.
   ''One protester, Mohamed Abdullah, said the rulings show that those
   currently in power are looking for ways to stop change.
   "Today it's clear that everyone wants to hand over power to Shafiq,"
   said Abdullah. "The deal with Shafiq is he's like a cat with nine
   lives. Shafiq is Mubarak's dog. He's the one protecting the regime."
   "By what logic can we return the tyrannical old regime?" asked
   demonstrator Mohamed Hussein, who called the ruling an outrage. "Where
   is the justice in that? We had a revolution and no revolution in the
   world brings back a tyrannical regime."
   Some political activists, like Mohamed Fawaz with the 6th of April
   Movement, said the court rulings were expected.
   "It is very logical that the law [to disqualify Shafiq] was refused,"
   he said. "I have always expected that the law will be found void. We
   are talking about all the organizations of the country working together
   so that Ahmed Shafiq would become president, to return the Mubarak
   regime once again and to continue the military rule that has been going
   for 60 years."
   Some protesters saw corruption not only in the ruling itself but in
   events leading up to it. One of the court's judges heads the election
   commission - an apparent conflict of interest that protesters have
   openly decried - while Egypt's ruling military council only yesterday
   re-authorized soldiers to arrest civilians.
   Speaking to supporters in Cairo Thursday, Shafiq called the ruling
   "historic" and urged all Egyptians to take part in the upcoming poll.
   He promised Egypt would return to greatness, saying its future would
   now be written.
   He also rejected the use of violence, saying there is no need to use
   threats and that he would respect the rights of all Egyptians to
   protest.
   "The era of political score-settling has ended and the
   individualization of the law, or the use of the nation's statutes to
   achieve the goals of a single group against a person or another group,
   has now gone forever," Shafiq said.
   While some in the crowd outside the court vowed to keep up the street
   protests that brought the old government down last year, columnist and
   political observer Rania el Malki said the time for effective
   demonstrations may have passed.
   "We are going to have the elections. People are going to go to the
   polls," said el Malki. "They are going to say what they want and, at
   the end of the day, nothing is going to change the outcome."
   Still, some Egyptians want to register objections to both candidates at
   the polls, and one group that is gaining momentum is urging voters to
   spoil their ballots.
   "These nullified votes would tell the two candidates that there is a
   third power," said protester Abdullah Mahmoud.
   Parliament's future
   What happens next for the parliament is unclear.
   Lawyer Tarek Nagida says the ruling military council will have to step
   in while parliament steps down.
   "The parliament has to suspend its sessions because it lost its
   legitimacy by losing one-third of its members and, in this case, the
   parliament has to wait until the ruling power calls for new elections
   for the third of the seats of the parliament," he said.
   At least one senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and
   Justice Party warned Thursday that Egypt was entering a "dark tunnel."
   Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh said he was especially concerned about a
   decree issued Wednesday that allows military police to detain
   civilians. Some critics say the move essentially places Egypt under
   martial law.
   VOA's Jeff Seldin contributed to this report from Washington
   [[1]View the story "Egyptians React to Court Rulings, Shafiq Speech" on
   Storify]
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/egyptian_court_ruling_ignites_fury/12
   11191.html

References

   1. http://storify.com/voahilleary/egyptdecides-june-14-2011
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/egyptian_court_ruling_ignites_fury/1211191.html