U.S. Hopes for 'Democratic' Government in Egypt

The United States voiced hope Thursday that Egypt would preserve a "democratic" government after the country's top court paved the way for the military to assume parliament's powers.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that the United States was still studying the ruling and would not comment on it directly but voiced hope that Egyptians would enjoy the gains from last year's revolution.

"We want to see the Egyptian people have what they fought for, which is a free, fair, democratic, transparent system of government -- governance that represents the will of the people, a parliament so elected, a president so elected," Nuland told reporters.

"Those are the standards that they want; those are the standards that the international community wants," Nuland said.

The court ruling cast new disarray just two days before a fiercely contested presidential election pitting Ahmed Shafiq -- the last premier of ousted president Hosni Mubarak -- against the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Mursi.

The United States voiced concern about backsliding in Egypt just weeks after the end of a decades-old emergency law.

"We are also concerned by the decision with regard to the reinstitution of some powers that seem to allow the authorities broad ability to detain people during this election period," Nuland told reporters.

The United States was a major supporter of Mubarak, who supported peace with Israel. But President Barack Obama's administration backed calls for Mubarak to step down after protests intensified and has since tried to develop a working relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood.