Though President Mohamed Mursi and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi made a joint appearance at the armed forces graduation ceremony today, the rift between the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and the elected dispensation was for everyone to see.
In a surprise move yesterday, Mursi asserted his authority by nullifying the dissolution of the parliament, but in line with the supreme court declared that fresh elections will be held within 60 days of the adoption of a new constitution.
Parliamentary speaker Saad El-Katatni called for a general parliamentary session to take place tomorrow even as security forces allowed MPs into the building after almost a month preventing them from entry, Al Ahram said.
Following the decree, both SCAF and High Constitutional Court held emergency meetings to discuss the developments, but did not come out with any statement.
The President's move to recall the Muslim Brotherhood- dominated parliament was met by both praise and indignation, and some papers described it as a "political earthquake".
"Mursi says to SCAF: Check mate," read the headline of the independent daily Al-Watan.
The Brotherhood's victory in the parliamentary election had made the liberal-secularists in the country uneasy and some prominent secular politicians, including Mohamed ElBaradei, criticised Mursi's decision to upturn the verdict.
"In any decent and democratic country, a president cannot disrespect the judiciary," said Rifaat al-Said, the head of the leftist Al-Tagammu party.
"Whether Mursi likes it or not, he must respect the judiciary's decisions," he told state television. (MORE)
