Cairo: The Egyptian Supreme Court Thursday caused outrage after calling for the dissolution of the parliament`s lower house in the country.
It ruled that last year`s parliamentary election was unconstitutional and said that one third of the seats were "illegitimate", BBC reported.
The controversial decision, coming days before Egypt`s presidential election run-off, prompted the ruling military council to hold an emergency meeting.
The Muslim Brotherhood said the ruling would push Egypt into a "dark tunnel".
Muslim Brotherhood`s senior leader Essam Al-Arian warned that the decision would leave the incoming president without a parliament or a constitution.
Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, who took part in the first round of the presidential vote in May, said that dissolving of the parliament amounted to a "complete coup".
In a separate ruling, the supreme court also declared that former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq could continue to run for president in the June 16-17 election, rejecting a law that would have barred him from standing.
The court was considering the validity of last year`s parliamentary election.
According to the official Mena news agency: "The constitutional court affirmed in the details of its verdict that the parliamentary elections were not constitutional, and the entire composition of parliament has been illegitimate since its election."
IANS
