Egypt’s military dissolved parliament and will run the country for six months or until elections are held, it said in a statement Sunday, two days after President Hosni Mubarak resigned.

It is suspending the constitution and will appoint a committee to propose changes to it, the statement said, adding that the public will then get to vote on the amended constitution.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces can issue new laws during the transition period, according to the statement on state television.

The government is now reporting to the military high command in the same way it reported to Mubarak before he stepped down, the prime minister confirmed shortly before the military statement was read.

The restoration of security and normal life is the government’s priority, Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said, as troops began trying to clear protesters from Tahrir Sqaure, the spiritual heart of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak after 30 years.

That could take time, Shafiq acknowledged in his first comments to the press since Mubarak stepped down.

“The feeling of the lack of security which started when the situation began has to end,” he said. “It will end gradually, but not as fast as we want.”

He also said he was reviewing candidates to fill vacant government ministries, adding that no one who was not acceptable to the public would be appointed. His remarks were carried live on state television.

(Source: CNN)