BICOM

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi and his allies refused to back down yesterday from their call to reinstate the disbanded Islamist-dominated parliament, ignoring both a veiled threat from the military and a rebuke from the country’s supreme court.

On Sunday, Mursi issued a decree ordering the Islamist-led lower house to reconvene, a month after the Supreme Constitutional Court annulled the parliament, having found that the law on parliamentary elections had been breached.

On Monday, Mursi called for lawmakers to take their seats in parliament today at around midday. Mursi’s demand has escalated tensions in the standoff between the newly elected President, who is a member of the formerly banned Muslim Brotherhood, and the vestiges of the Hosni Mubarak regime that control Egypt’s military and judiciary.

Egypt’s supreme court warned on Monday that its 14 June ruling against the legislature was “final and binding,” according to state television reports. The court’s head, Maher el-Beheiry, also told Reuters news agency that the court would immediately begin reviewing Mursi’s attempt to reinstate parliament. The military council issued a public statement on Monday warning Mursi to adhere to the court’s ruling and to respect the constitution.

The dispute comes just days before a visit by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, where before this weekends events she was expected to give a speech in support of Egypt’s democratic process.