53 PER CENT OF EGYPTIANS SATISFIED WITH MORSI'S LEADERSHIP

Cairo, 10 Rajab 1434/20 May 2013 (MINA) – A survey by the Pew Research Centre in Washington has shown that the majority of Egyptians are supportive of President Mohammad Morsi’s leadership.

The poll, published on Thursday (16/5), revealed that 30 per cent of Egyptians believe that their country is heading in the right direction, compared to 53 per cent last year, and 56 per cent in 2011, Middle East Monitor reported as monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

Moreover, only 39 per cent believe that conditions are better than what they were during President Hosni Mubarak’s rule.

The survey was based on personal interviews with 1,000 individuals, and was carried out during the period between 3rd – 23rd March 2013. It attempted to shed light on the rapid changes taking place on the political stage before the upcoming parliamentary elections, which will most likely be held at the end of the year.

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The survey said according to the figures, the number of Egyptians who have a positive image of the Muslim Brotherhood has declined from 75 per cent in 2011 to 63 per cent, and 53 per cent expressed a positive opinion of President Morsi, while 43 per cent were negative.

Furthermore, the survey revealed that almost half of the Egyptian population view the Freedom and Justice Party positively, whereas most viewed the National Salvation Front negatively. Less than half of the participants in the survey had a positive opinion of Hamdeen Sabahi and Mohamed El-Baradei, both leaders of the National Salvation Front.

Mohamed Morsi was born 8 August 1951. He is the fifth and current President of Egypt, having assumed office on 30 June 2012.

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Mohamed Morsi was educated in Egyptian public schools and universities; he was later granted a scholarship from the Egyptian Government to prepare for a PhD degree in the United States, Morsi was a Member of Parliament in the People’s Assembly of Egypt from 2000 to 2005, and a leading member in the Muslim Brotherhood. He became Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) when it was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He stood as the FJP’s candidate for the May–June 2012 presidential election.

On 24 June 2012, the election commission announced that Morsi won Egypt’s presidential runoff against Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak. According to official results, Morsi took 51.7 percent of the vote while Shafik received 48.3%. As he had promised during his campaign, Morsi resigned from his position as the head of the FJP after his victory was announced.

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After Morsi granted himself unlimited powers to “protect” the nation in late November 2012, and the power to legislate without judicial oversight or review of his acts, hundreds of thousands of protesters began demonstrating against him in the 2012 Egyptian protests. (T/P03/P04)

Mi’raj News Ageny (MINA)