Court suspends Egypt’s parliament election

(AP) — An Egyptian administrative court on Wednesday ordered the suspension of parliamentary elections scheduled to begin next month, throwing the country's politics deeper into confusion.

The ruling is likely to force a delay in the elections and adds a new legal battle to Egypt's intertwined crises. The country is caught in political fights between the Islamist president and the mainly liberal and secular opposition, and at the same time protests against President Mohammed Morsi and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood have mounted around the country.

In the Suez Canal city of Port Said, scene of some of the heaviest protests, a new rounds of violence entered a fourth day as protesters clashed with police even as the military tried to intervene to stop the unrest.

The court verdict was in response to dozens of complaints questioning the legality of the law organizing the election, which Morsi's Islamist allies pushed through parliament.

The court ruled that the process of the law's passage was improper. Presiding judge Abdel-Meguid el-Muqanen said that the law must be reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court to determine its conformity to the constitution. He ruled that, in the meantime, the presidential decree calling for elections based on the law was annulled.

Morsi's legal adviser, Mohammed Fouad Gadallah, said the state would appeal the administrative court ruling. At the same time, he said, it will submit the law to the constitutional court for review. The appeal aims to establish the right of the president to call the elections, which the court called into question by annulling the decree.