“The state will respect all aspects of the Constitutional Declaration,” stated the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Monday in reaction to President Mohamed Morsy’s decree ordering that the People’s Assembly be reinstated.
In its statement, the SCAF stressed the necessity of respecting the rule of law, the constitution and governmental institutions to maintain the integrity of the Egyptian state and show respect to the Egyptian people.
The supplement to the Constitutional Declaration issued by the SCAF on 17 June was necessary in order to address the political state of the nation, and was meant to define the specific responsibilities of the newly-elected president and the SCAF until a new constitution would be drafted and approved, the statement continued.
The military council denied rumors of striking deals with various political parties and called such accusations dangerous for the country.
"The armed forces is owned by the people and will always be faithful to its pledges of siding with the constitution, the law and the people,” said the SCAF.
President Mohamed Morsy issued a decree on Sunday that would have the People's Assembly resume sessions.
The assembly was disbanded after the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that the law governing the parliamentary elections was unconstitutional for allowing political parties to field candidates for seats that were reserved for independents. Following the SCC’s ruling, the SCAF ordered the dissolution of the People's Assembly, thus effectively transferring legislative power to the SCAF.
Morsy’s decision would hand legislative power back to Parliament.
The state-owned news service MENA said on Sunday that the SCAF held an emergency meeting to discuss Morsy’s decision, but the military council did not address this meeting in their statement.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
