A Field Study: 74% of the Egyptians Reject Al-Sisi Regime

A recent field study for the Egyptian Center for Media and Public Opinion Takamol Masr found that 74% of the Egyptians refuse the continuation of the al-Sisi regime while 11% only wanted the regime to continue and 15%  don’t care about what is happening on the Egyptian scene.

The rejection of the al-Sisi regime is high within the age categories that are less than 40 reaching 81%, and it is relatively close for both males and females, according to the “Takamol Masr” study.

The field study was conducted over three days on July 27,28 and 29 , 2016.

The sample taken was based on a stratified random method for 4615 samples distributed on Egypt’s governorates according to their population density. The gender, age, the standard of living, and the education criteria were taken into consideration in taking the samples.

Recently, The Economist has highlighted al-Sisi as the one who is responsible for the ruining of Egypt in its editorial titled: The Ruining of Egypt…Repression and the incompetence of al-Sisi are stoking the second uprising.”

The magazine said at the end of its editorial that the demographic, economic and social pressures in Egypt are relentlessly increasing and that al-Sisi is incapable of providing the sustainable stability to Egypt, the political regime also needs to be reopened.

The magazine considered al-Sisi’s withdrawal from the political life is the hope gate for the Egypt. The Economist continued saying, “Egypt’s political system needs to be reopened. A good place to start would be for al-Sisi to announce that he will not stand again for election in 2018.”

The field study results, as well as the Economist editorial, came in parallel with a petition signed for re-electing al-Sisi in 2018, the petition aims to collect 40 million signatures. (A similar move was conducted by “Tamarud” movement, supported by the army, when they planned to topple Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president in 2013. At the time, it was announced that Tamarud was collecting millions of signatures against Morsi. Also, Tamraud received financial support from the UAE via the Egyptian army, according to leaks circulated on the media, allegedly from Al-Sisi’s office).

It seems that al-Sisi’s popularity has faded away among the Egyptian public who once perceived him as the savior of the country. The Al-Sisi regime failed to fulfill his promises to the Egyptian, but on the contrary, he warned them of harsh times and austerity policies in light of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Loan.

Since the military coup in 2013 led by al-Sisi against Mohamed Morsi the first democratically elected president, Egypt undergoes one the harshest economic crisis in its history.

Hard currency shortage has escalated due to withdrawal in tourism and foreign investment as a result political instability and  lack of security. As a result,the Central Bank of Egypt(CBE) devalued the Egyptian currency in March. The devaluation of the Egyptian pound and the shortage of foreign currency have flourished the black market on the currency expense  and led to inflation.

In addition, the political life in Egypt has been locked by the al-Sisi regime that launched a massive crackdown against political opposition and human rights activists.

Two years after al-Sisi took power in 2014, it seems that the public dissent against his regime is growing among the Egyptians, as documented in the recent study. However, will it be stoking the second uprising in Egypt?