Egypt parliament gets legislative powers

Mohamed Saad al-Katatni of the Muslim Brotherhood speaks to other members of the Egyptian parliament during the first session after the revolution that ousted former dictator Hosni Mubarak, Cairo, January 23, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/222766.html

Egypt's military rulers, who took over the reins after a revolution ousted former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, have handed legislative powers to the country's parliament.

“Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has announced in a letter to the people's assembly the transfer of legislative power to the assembly," the cabinet said in statement on Monday.

The lower house of parliament convened for the first time on Monday, two days before the first anniversary of the start of the revolution, which began on January 25 and culminated on February 11 with Mubarak's ouster.

During the marathon parliamentary elections, which ended just days ago, Egypt's two main Islamic parties secured over three quarters of the 498 seats.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) secured the biggest share of seats (47.18) in the parliament while the Islamic al-Nour party finished second with 29 percent of the seats.

During the Monday session, the parliament also elected the FJP's nominee, Mohamed Saad al-Katatni, as speaker of the house.