Natalie Gonnella
The International Republican Institute today released the results of one of the "first major public opinion research" surveys within Egypt since the January revolution.
With Egyptians exuding a generally positive outlook for the nation's future and nearly 90% of citizens planning to participate in upcoming elections, here's a look at some of the key findings from IRI's first survey in post-Mubarak Egypt:
- The vast majority of respondents in the survey said that they supported the events surrounding January 25 and they feel the revolution will impact Egypt for the better.
- Despite this optimism, Egyptians are concerned about the economy with an overwhelming 81 percent of respondents rating it as poor. More than one-third of Egyptians (41 percent) said they have trouble feeding themselves and their family or providing for the most basic needs.
- The survey revealed that the upcoming parliamentary elections are wide open, with no party clearly seen as a frontrunner. In an open-ended question asking for whom they would vote, 65 percent responded that they did not know.
- The survey shows that the vast majority is either very likely or somewhat likely to vote in the parliamentary elections (95 percent).
- The survey results challenge certain widespread assumptions regarding the role of new media in the protests. Respondents reported that they relied on television more than Facebook as their main source of information during the revolution (84 percent compared to six percent), while Twitter barely registered. When asked what medium was the second-most relied upon, nearly half said word of mouth.
The full analysis from IRI's Egypt survey is available to view here.
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