Morsi Orders Egyptian Parliament to Reconvene

A general view of the first Egyptian parliament session after the revolution that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, in Cairo, January 23, 2012

Egypt's new president has ordered the country's Islamist-led parliament to reconvene, in defiance of the military's dismissal of the assembly based on last month's Supreme Court ruling.

President Mohamed Morsi issued a decree Sunday ordering lawmakers to start meeting again. He also ordered that new parliamentary elections will be held within 60 days of the adoption of Egypt's new constitution.

The country's Supreme Constitutional Court ordered the parliament dissolved after finding fault with the election process. The then-ruling military generals implemented the decision and gave themselves legislative powers in the absence of parliament.

Many of the new lawmakers were from the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, the political movement that President Morsi quit after taking office.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.