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Egypt’s SCAF Vests Parliament with Legislative Power

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The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which ruled Egypt since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, delegated legislative and monitoring powers to parliament, the MENA news agency said on Tuesday.

The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which ruled Egypt since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, delegated legislative and monitoring powers to parliament, the MENA news agency said on Tuesday.

The newly elected lower house of the Egyptian parliament, People’s Assembly, gathered for its first meeting on Monday.

The Egyptian government said on its official Facebook page that SCAF head Hussein Tantawi sent a letter to inform the People’s Assembly about the transfer of legislative power.

The SCAF annulled the country's constitution and dismissed both chambers of parliament shortly after longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak announced his resignation on February 11.

The voting to elect the People’s Assembly took almost six weeks and ended on January 11 with the overwhelming victory of the Freedom and Justice Party. The party, representing the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood has secured 235 of 498 seats.

Mohamed Saad El-Katatni, former secretary of the Freedom and Justice Party, was officially voted as speaker for the People's Assembly on Monday, winning 399 votes from his fellow MPs.

The upper house, the Shura Council, will be elected in February-March 2012 and is due to begin its work on March 24.

Both chambers will appoint a 100-member constitutional commission to draft the country’s supreme law which will later be put on referendum.

Registration of candidates for the forthcoming presidential elections is scheduled to begin on April 15. The polls to elect a new head of state are due in mid-June, shortly after the constitution is adopted.

SCAF is to hand over all powers to democratically elected authorities before June 30.

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