An opinion poll has shown that Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri’s popularity almost equals that of President Barack Obama among Egyptians.
The poll, which came a few months before scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections in Egypt, was conducted by the New York-based Institute for International Peace.
It looked at the popularity of various leaders and found presidential hopeful Amr Moussa to be the most popular among respondents. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf came in second and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, chief of Egypt’s ruling military council, came in third.
According to the poll, Obama is viewed favorably among 12 percent of Egyptians, whereas Zawahiri is viewed favorably by 11 percent. Zawahiri, who is Egyptian, was appointed head of Al-Qaeda last week.
The survey was conducted with a sample pool of 800 Egyptian eligible voters. Parliamentary elections are slated for September, while presidential elections are scheduled for soon after.
According to the findings, Moussa continues to lead the presidential race. Thirty-two percent of respondents declared they would vote for him.
Sixteen percent of respondents said they would vote for Sharaf, 8 percent for Tantawi, 3 percent for Mohamed ElBaradei and 2 percent for Ayman Nour.
The poll’s margin of error is 4 percent.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
