August 3rd, 2013, Karima Berkani
- 27% of online respondents claim the removal of Morsi from power is a military coup
- 80% of online respondents agree the Muslim Brotherhood is not prepared to govern Egypt
- 71% of online respondents support the army’s ultimatum asking Morsi to step down
There has been much debate regarding the legitimacy of the forces that succeeded in removing President Morsi from power, as well as the role of democracy and the army in Egypt. In a recent Al Aan poll, conducted by YouGov, online respondents in Egypt were asked to share their thoughts about the current political situation there.
Two-thirds of online respondents describe the overthrowing of Morsi from power as a revolution, while 27 percent claim it constitutes a military coup. When asked specifically about the actions of the Egyptian army, 76 percent of respondents agree they acted in the fulfillment of popular will following the mass protests. It is important to note the majority of online respondents (70 percent) agree last year’s presidential elections in Egypt were both free and fair, however only 23 percent of online respondents think the Muslim Brotherhood was prepared to run Egypt when elected. Moreover, following their election an increased number of respondents (80 percent) agree the Muslim Brotherhood is still not prepared to govern.
Given the growing concerns over the deterioration of women’s quality of life following Morsi’s election, it is perhaps not surprising that women are most likely to say they do not support Morsi at all (69 percent compared to 57 percent of male respondents). Nearly half (49 percent) of female online respondents report they signed a petition calling for President Morsi to step down, compared to 42 percent of male online respondents.
Generally, the lack of support for President Morsi among online respondents is rooted in the belief that he is unable to tackle the problems currently facing Egypt. Two-thirds of online respondents agree Morsi does not have the capacity to make the required changes to improve Egypt’s social situation. Similarly, two-thirds of online respondents agree Morsi does not have the capacity to improve Egypt’s economic situation.
Online respondents express discontent with the ability of the Morsi regime to follow through on its campaign promises, which 80 percent of respondents agree the regime failed to meet. Further, nearly three in five (57 percent) of online respondents agree the Morsi regime is corrupt.
The majority of online respondents agree the situation in Egypt deteriorated during Morsi’s tenure. The majority of online respondents (77 percent) agree the lives of ordinary people have not improved during Morsi’s rule. Three-fourths (76 percent) agree security has gotten worse under Morsi’s leadership, while 69 percent say the economy declined and 62 percent agree social services deteriorated. Similarly, 64 percent of online respondents agree employment opportunities have gotten worse under Morsi’s rule.
Following the escalation of events last week in Egypt, 60 percent of online respondents support the removal of Morsi as president. Again, female online respondents show more support for his removal than male respondents (67 vs. 58 percent). Further, 61 percent of online respondents support the suspension of the constitution. Given the complaints of gender bias in the constitution, it is not surprising that female respondents are more likely to favor its repeal (67 percent vs. 59 percent of male respondents).
Looking to the future, 59 percent of online respondents support installing Adil Mansour as interim President, however, 31 percent do not support this move. Female respondents are most likely to support this initiative (68 percent vs. 56 percent of males).
Perhaps most surprisingly, more than half (55 percent) of online respondents favor the issuing of arrest warrants for members of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, roughly one-third (34 percent) of online respondents do not support this. Further, 33 percent of online respondents agree Muslims can no longer accept concept of democracy, while 55 percent say they can. However, 58 percent of online respondents say they would prefer to live under a government chosen by the people in free competitive elections, while 21 percent say they prefer to have a strong leader, even if not elected by democratic process.
The survey was commissioned by Al Aan and conducted by YouGov using the YouGov online panel. Data was collected from July 3 – 7th 2013 among 1007 online respondents living in Egypt and results are representative of the online population of Egypt.