Baseera poll shows jump in Sisi approval rating in one month

The approval rating for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he concludes his second year in office has reached 91 percent, according to a poll released by Baseera, The Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research, on Saturday.

This comes less than a month after the research center revealed a decline in the president’s approval rating, placing it at 79 percent, down from 82 percent from an earlier poll conducted to mark the first 100 days of his presidency.

“This poll was conducted after the accident of the Egyptian plane that crashed while flying from Paris to Cairo, which may increase the president’s approval rate, as analyzing international approval rates shows that president’s approval rate increases in crises,” Baseera explained.

EgyptAir flight MS804 tragically crashed into the Mediterranean Sea as it was flying from Paris to Cairo on May 19, with 66 people on board. The president urged the public and international community to be patient, as investigations into the cause of the crash may be protracted. Cautioning against rash conclusions, Sisi stated, "Until now all scenarios are possible. So please, it is very important that we do not talk and say there is a specific scenario.”

When asked if they would elect Sisi if elections were held tomorrow, 81 percent of the respondents said they would, while the remaining 19 percent were equally divided between those who would not elect him and those who said that their decision would depend on who would run against him.

Baseera is an independent polling company, established in 2012.

The poll, conducted in coordination with Youm7 newspaper, used a sample of 2,600 people aged 18 years old and above, across Egypt’s governorates in the period between May 20-24.