Tantawi lifts Egypt's 30-year emergency rule

Egypt today marks the first anniversary of its revolution Cairo –Akram Ali Egypt's military ruler and  head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi  announced in an address to the nation that Egypt's state of emergency would be lifted from tomorrow, except in cases of "thuggery".
Tantawi on Monday also announced the transfer of the power of legislation and oversight to the parliament in a message during the inaugural session, while vowing to hand over full authority to the elected president at the end of June.
In a speech broadcast on Egyptian state TV  he saluted the martyrs of the January 25 revolution, pointing out that the newly-elected People's Assembly was the first to be formed "under the free will of Egyptian people which expressed their will and aspirations to a better life through fair elections".
Egyptians have lived under emergency law since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. The law was extended repeatedly during the near-30 year rule of his successor, Hosni Mubarak, and remained in force under the Tantawi-led SCAF tha took over from Mubarak last February.
The Field Marshal, who has faced vociferous calls from protesters to step down, called for choosing members of the constituent assembly from all spectrums of people to draft a new constitution that establishes “the second Egyptian republic”.
Newly elected People's Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad Katatni, announced MP Ashraf Thabet (Professional seat) from the Nour Party as the Deputy PA Speaker after receiving 429 votes. His opponents MP Ayman Abul Ela from the Kotla Masreya Party and Ihab Ramzi Hana from the Hurreya Party received 19 and 17 votes respectively.
During his first session as PA speaker Katatni also declared Wafd MP, Mohamed Abdul Aleem Dawod (Workers seat) as Deputy PA Speaker after winning 459 votes. His opponent Abdul Nasser Al-Sayed received only two votes before withdrawing from the race.
Earlier, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Saqa, who headed the first parliamentary session until Katatni took over, announced the election of Katatni as the new PA Speaker after receiving 399 votes whereas his opponents, Essam Sultan from the Wasat Party, and independent candidate Yusuf Al-Badry received 87 and 10 votes respectively, adding to a total of 503 votes with seven invalid.
“From this podium, from this venerable hall, we announce to the Egyptian people and the whole world that our revolution goes on, and we will not rest, yield or retreat until all the revolution’s objectives are fully achieved, with retribution for the martyrs – with fast, effective and fair trials. And together we shall rebuild new Egypt; the constitutional, civil, democratic, modern Egypt,” said Katatni in his speech to the parliament after being elected PA Speaker.
Katatni stressed that the legislative platform “shall be committed to impartiality and integrity, to weigh matters on the honest scales of justice, and to safeguard for each MP their constitutional right to full freedom to express their views and ideas under this dome.”
Newly elected parliament Speaker praised the role of the Armed Forces and SCAF for “[honouring] its promise to the people to hold the elections in a manner to be envied and praised by the whole world.”
He stressed that the People’s Assembly is to cooperate with members of the Shura Council to form the committee in charge of drafting a new constitution which speaks for all spectrums of Egyptians.
Earlier, controversy prevailed among new Egyptian parliament members in its first procedural session over the wording of the constitutional oath, when MP Mamdouh Ismail added “as not contrary to the law of Allah”, and was asked by head of the procedural session Mahmoud El-Sakka to repeat the oath without any additions.
Another MP objected to the wording of the “republican regime” in the constitutional oath, indicating that the parliament have not yet decided whether the political system in Egypt would be parliamentary or republican (presidential). Other MPs added to their oath words like “respect to martyrs” and “pursuing goals of the revolution”, which prompted the Speaker of the session to demand the deletion of all additions from the minutes of meeting.
The procedural session of the Egyptian lower house of parliament was headed by the oldest MP Mahmoud El-Sakka, from the Wafd party, and his deputies Mohamed Hamdi from the Al-Nour Party and Marian Malak, appointed by SCAF.
The parliament, packed with MPs, took a moment to mourn the martyrs of the revolution and recited Fatiha (Quraan verse) in prayer for the martyrs.
Around 30 MPs, including Kamal Abu Eita, Abu Ess Hariri, Amr Hamzawi, and MPs from the revolutionary youth including Bassem Kamel and Ziad Eleimy, wore yellow scarves with the logo “No Military Trials” campaign, in protest of the military trials of civilians.
When all the MPs were finally sworn in, following a few debates on the form and wording of the constitutional oath, El-Sakka announced that nominations were open for the post of Speaker of Parliament, where the parliament forms a special committee to supervise the voting process, to have the winning candidate announced.
Meanwhile, a tight security cordon was set outside the premises to prevent outsiders from entering, except for the media and parliamentary guests with invitations.  
Egypt's lower house of parliament held its first session since a popular uprising ousted veteran president Hosni Mubarak, with Islamists dominating the assembly for the first time.
One year after the revolution, many Egyptians see the new parliament as the first sign of democratic rule, in sharp contrast to the toothless legislature that existed under Mubarak.
But the exact role of parliament remains unclear, with power remaining in the hands of the military generals who took power when Mubarak resigned last February.
Elections for the Assembly began in late November stretching over three stages till mid January. There is still disagreement in the national press about the distribution of seats in the legislative body. The Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), have also failed to win a simple majority.
Egypt's Islamists will control over two thirds of the seats after the country's first open parliamentary elections, which kicked off in November and concluded earlier this month.
The long-banned Muslim Brotherhood won a crushing victory with 47.18 per cent in landmark parliamentary elections through its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.
The ultra-conservative Salafist Al-Nur party came second with 24.29 per cent.
The remaining seats went to the Wafd party in third place, Egyptian bloc in fourth, and the rest for other parties, independents, and a few remnants of the old regime.
The People's Assembly, or lower house, is made up of 498 elected MPs and 10 appointed by the ruling military.
Elections for parliament's upper house, the Shura Council, are to begin later this month and conclude in February. Then the two chambers will choose a 100-member panel to draft a new constitution.