How credible are Egypt’s online polls?
Opinion-takers employ both old and new technology to get inside the public’s collective head, but it’s hard to know if the results can be trusted.
Since the January 25 Revolution of 2011, pollsters have taken a great interest in the opinion of the ordinary Egyptian citizen. After all, ordinary citizens had just shown themselves to be the most pivotal players in Egypt by toppling the Hosni Mubarak regime, which had controlled political life in Egypt for more than 30 years.
As a result, civil society organizations, think tanks and perhaps even ordinary activists — anyone hoping to gauge public sentiment — have sought to embrace the widest possible segment of Egyptians, especially through online polls.
But it’s an unrequited love. In recent years, ordinary Egyptians have shown a noticeable erosion of interest in these polls.
Nevertheless, the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research (Baseera) unveiled a new poll-related app Sept. 6 at a conference titled "The Future of Arab Societies: Changes and Challenges,” held at its Alexandria office.
