The study jointly conducted by the Egyptian Centre for Media Studies and the public opinion group Integrating Egypt released on 12 August is the second of its kind to be conducted since General Abdel-Fatah Al-Sisi, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and various political and religious factions collaborated to depose Morsi in a military coup last month.
The aim of the study was to examine the critical group in opposition to President Morsi’s detention and the trajectory of the level of support for the 2011 Constitution (approximately 78 per cent) if the current political situation continues. It shows the qualitative distribution of those in opposition to Morsi’s isolation, only around 19 per cent of whom are Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Thirty-nine per cent of those opposed to his detention are affiliated with other Islamic factions whereas 36 per cent do not affiliate with any political movements. The liberal bloc and Christians constitute 6 per cent and 2 per cent of the study respectively.
In terms of the qualitative distribution of those who support President Morsi’s overthrow, the study indicates that 55 per cent were affiliated with the disgraced Mubarak regime. Nineteen per cent belong to the Liberal movement, 17 per cent are Christian and 6 per cent affiliate with the Leftist bloc; 3 per cent do not affiliate with any political movement.
The qualitative distribution of those who prefer not to express an opinion on the political situation shows that 91 per cent affiliate themselves with the Nour party or some religious schools of thought whereas 9 per cent do not have any political affiliations. The study was conducted on 1 and 2 August by selecting 3,911 individuals at random from different denominations and sects in Egyptian society.
The study showed an increase in the number of those opposed to deposing President Morsi, from July’s 63 per cent to 69 per cent. The number of those in favour of keeping the president in isolation went down slightly, from 26 per cent in July to 25 per cent; those who preferred to remain silent dropped from 11 per cent to 6 per cent. The study shows a 10 per cent increase in the number of those opposed to removing President Morsi from his post over the course of the previous month.
With a 4 per cent decrease in supporters for President Morsi’s isolation over the last month, the number of those who support his removal is approaching 25 per cent and the proportion of those opposed to amending the 2011 Constitution is approximately 22 per cent. These figures could become a reality in two months’ time if the political situation continues in the same vein.
Note that of the individuals who support the removal of Dr Morsi from his post as President of the Republic, 97 per cent have political and organisational affiliations. Seventy-two per cent of them are Christians or support the former Mubarak regime, which reflects the same alliance between these two currents during the period of Mubarak’s 30-year rule.