By Henry D Gombya
The new Egyptian President, Dr Mohammad Morsi is set for a collision with the country's powerful military.
Tensions between the new Egyptian President and the country military are set to rise when the country’s legislators meet Tuesday morning after Mr Mohammed Morsi who was inaugurated last week as Egypt’s first democratically-elected president issued a decree setting aside a court judgement and a military order that dissolved the country’s parliament shortly before Morsi won the general election.
In what is seen as a direct challenge to the powerful military that has run the country since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak last year, Dr Morsi defied the military’s decision and asked the speaker to convene the House. For the first time since it was closed and military guards posted outside to deter anyone from entering, parliamentarians yesterday entered the chambers to prepare for today’s session after the Speaker, Saad el-Katani told them the House would sit at noon.
If parliament sits today (Tuesday), the move will strengthen Dr Morsi’s power base after the military literally took away most of the previous powers that President Mubarak had and left the post of the president as that of a figurehead. But the Supreme Constitutional Court rejected Monday, President Morsi’s decree saying its June 14 ruling that last year’s parliamentary elections were unconstitutional, was binding and final.
Egypt’s military also responded with what was seen as a warning to Dr Morsi not to cross the line. A statement from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) said the military was confident ‘all state institutions’ would respect the law and constitution. The warning is said to have infuriated the Moslem Brotherhood. A big demonstration allegedly organised by the ruling Moslem Brotherhood will perhaps not help the situation. But this morning thousands of people were gathering in Tahrir Square for a demonstration called by the Brotherhood.
They are angry that the military is trying to hijack their revolution by rendering the president powerless. Before his was inaugurated, the military stripped the Egyptian President of authority over the military, retaining all the legislative powers in the country. It argued that was obeying a court ruling when it dissolved parliament last month and that it would always support the will of the people.
