Poll: Most AUCians will vote for El-Sissi

A Caravan poll has revealed that more than 53 percent of AUC students intend to vote for Former Defense Minister Field Marshall Abdel Fatah El-Sissi in the upcoming presidential elections.

“I believe that El-Sissi is capable of leading Egypt in this critical time and that he will lead us to a better future,” said Mechanical Engineering junior Amr El Sagheir.

Sandra Hanna, a Management of Information and Communication Technology sophomore, thinks that El-Sissi is the best person to lead the country, especially with the Muslim Brotherhood’s attempts to “destroy Egypt.”

However, more than 15 percent backed his only competitor, Hamdeen Sabahi, a self-described Nasserist.

Sabahi received 74 votes out of 500, which was shocking to Mariam Foum, a Finance junior who thinks that his campaign mainly targets the lower class and teenagers.

“Sabahi’s campaign is going to help the upcoming generation [a lot],” Foum said.

A more significant result showed that more than 32 percent have decided to abstain from voting completely.

This is Sabahi’s second Presidential race.

Hassan El- Zawy, a Business and Egyptology junior, said that Egyptians should abstain from voting.

“I don’t believe that choosing between Sabahi and El-Sissi will change anything in the country,” El-Zawy said.

“None of their campaigns will achieve the three demands of the Egyptian revolution,” he added.

El-Zawy told The Caravan that he will only be going to the polling stations to nullify his vote.

A similar poll conducted by Egyptian polling center Baseera revealed that as of May 6, El-Sissi is receiving the support of over half the population.

Seventy-two percent of the respondents said they would vote for El-Sissi, while only two percent backed Sabahi.

Twenty-two percent were undecided, three percent abstained from responding and one percent said they would nullify their vote.

The survey was conducted via phone calls with a sample size of 2005 citizens, aged 18 and above, from all of Egypt’s governorates.

The poll also shows El-Sissi is more popular among older generations, supported by 69 percent of respondents between the age of 18 and 29 and 75 percent of respondents over 50.

Meanwhile, Sabahi holds the support of five percent of respondents aged between 18 and 29, and only one percent of respondents over 50 years of age.

The presidential elections, which will be held on May 26 and 27, have affected AUC’s final examinations schedule.

In light of this scheduling conflict, the administration rescheduled May 26 exams to be held instead on May 20.

“This choice is the least disruptive of the examination week. Furthermore, it does not upset any previous travel arrangements made by students and faculty members,” said Provost Amr Shaarawi in an e-mail sent to the community.

Omar Abdel Sattar, Electronics Engineering junior, believes that the rescheduling will greatly affect the performance of the students on their exams since they would have less time to study.

Rowan Kayal, undeclared student, said that even though this decision may be unfair to many, it’s the only solution.