Egypt Supreme Court calls for parliament's dissolution

Cairo, June 14 (IANS) The Egyptian Supreme Court Thursday caused outrage after calling for the dissolution of the parliament's lower house in the country.

It ruled that last year's parliamentary election was unconstitutional and said that one third of the seats were "illegitimate", BBC reported.

The controversial decision, coming days before Egypt's presidential election run-off, prompted the ruling military council to hold an emergency meeting.

The Muslim Brotherhood said the ruling would push Egypt into a "dark tunnel".

Muslim Brotherhood's senior leader Essam Al-Arian warned that the decision would leave the incoming president without a parliament or a constitution.

Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, who took part in the first round of the presidential vote in May, said that dissolving of the parliament amounted to a "complete coup".

In a separate ruling, the supreme court also declared that former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq could continue to run for president in the June 16-17 election, rejecting a law that would have barred him from standing.

The court was considering the validity of last year's parliamentary election.

According to the official Mena news agency: "The constitutional court affirmed in the details of its verdict that the parliamentary elections were not constitutional, and the entire composition of parliament has been illegitimate since its election."