Egyptians see reviving the economy as priority

More than four in five of respondents in a survey conducted by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Centre released on Sunday in Egypt said improving the nation's economy was 'very important'.

CAIRO // Reviving the stalled economy is a priority for Egyptians as the country prepares for parliamentary and presidential elections later this year, a new poll suggests.

The Egyptian economy has struggled in the months following the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak and has led to an overhaul of the government.

Samir Radwan, the minister of finance, has predicted a budget deficit of 9.1 per cent due to a sharp downturn in tourism, lack of foreign investment and diminished economic activity across the country. Wealthy nations have pledged billions of dollars of support for Egypt and Tunisia to help rebuild their economies in recent weeks.

More than four in five of respondents (82 per cent) in a survey conducted by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Centre released on Sunday in Cairo said improving the economy was "very important". The centre held personal interviews with about 1,000 Egyptians aged 15 and older between late March and early April. More than 80 per cent said it was not a good time to find a job in Egypt.

Dalia Mogahed, director of the Abu Dhabi Gallup Centre, said: "There has been a lot of focus on important things like corruption and holding Mubarak accountable, but there hasn't been enough of a debate inside Egypt about the right economic policies to make going forward. The debate around the economy is really going to be the next phase."

There could be "a great deal of discontent among the population" if economic improvements are not swiftly made, according to the study, titled "Egypt from Tahrir to Transition".

Despite fears from secular and moderate political groups in Egypt that the Muslim Brotherhood would sweep elections, the survey suggests the September presidental elections would create a "patchwork parliament with lots of different parties and individuals running as independents", Ms Mogahed said. Just over one in seven - 15 per cent - of respondents indicated support for the conservative religious group, the highest among the four parties, while the National Democratic Party, a key component of Mr Mubarak's political regime, had support from jus one in 10 of the respondents.

There was, however, support for religious leaders to play a role in the running of the country. Almost seven out of 10 respondents said religious leaders should advise those in authority on drafting new laws, while one in seven - 14 per cent - said religious leaders should have full authority over laws. Fewer than one in 10 said they believed religious leaders should have no authority, while 8 per cent said they did not know or refused to answer the question.

The revolution was highly popular among Egyptians, with more than four in five - 83 per cent - of respondents indicating they supported the protests, according to the survey. Just over one in 10 (11 per cent) said they participated in the uprising.

Just under two thirds (64 per cent) of Egyptians said the country should use some form of democratic government to solve its problems, while just over a third (34 per cent) said the country should rely on a strong leader.

Finally, the survey showed distrust of the intentions of the US government in the Middle East amid the so-called "Arab Spring" of democratic movements that have risen up in Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and Bahrain, among other countries.

Roughly two thirds of respondents in the survey indicated they disagreed that the US is serious about encouraging democratic systems of government in the Mena region. In all, 68 per cent said they believe that US will try to "exert direct influence over Egypt's political future as opposed to letting the people of the country forge that future for themselves", the survey says.

While there was a wide range of views on the future of Egypt, there was one major consensus in the post-Mubarak stage of the country: Nine out of ten respondents indicated they believed the upcoming presidential elections would be "fair and honest" and that they planned to vote.