Egypt parliament to be dissolved after ruling - court official

CAIRO (Reuters) - A constitutional court ruling on Thursday means that the whole of the lower house of Egypt's parliament will be dissolved and a new election will have to be held, the court's head Farouk Soltan told Reuters by telephone after the ruling was issued.

"The ruling regarding parliament includes the dissolution of the lower house of parliament in its entirety because the law upon which the elections were held is contrary to rules of the constitution," he said, speaking two days before another election to pick a new president.

Soltan said the ruling was binding on all institutions of state, adding that it would be up to the executive to call for the new election that he said would take place.

(Reporting by Tom Perry; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Louise Ireland)