An opinion poll, conducted recently among Egyptian adults, had indicated that the newly appointed Al-Qaeda leader Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s popularity is close to that of US President Barack Obama. The poll was carried out by the New York-based Institute for International Peace.
According to the poll, Obama is viewed favorably among 12% of Egyptians, while Zawahiri is viewed favorably by 11%.
The survey also looked at the popularity of local leaders ahead of the presidential vote and found that presidential candidate Amr Moussa , the former Arab League Secretary General, is the most popular among respondents with 32%. Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf came second with 16% and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, chief of Egypt’s ruling military council, which rules the country along with the interim government, came third with 8%.
A total of 3% supported Ex-IAEA director generalMohamed ElBaradei and 2% backed Ayman Nour.
The survey was conducted with a sample of 800 Egyptian eligible voters. Parliamentary elections are slated for September, while presidential elections are scheduled for soon after.
However, ElBaradei was boosted by another informal poll as he came first. The poll was conducted on the Facebook page of Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. In this poll, Mousaa came just fourth.
