CAIRO: On June 27, SocialEyez published a report analyzing user reactions on different social media channels regarding the outcome of the Egypt presidential election and sentiments towards the candidates. SocialEyez found out that now more than ever Egyptians are using Facebook, Twitter and news blogs to discuss political developments in the country. During the week of June 10-16, the presidential run-off elections was the second most-discussed topic in Egypt. This discussion reached its climax on June 24 when the results were announced at a press conference in Cairo – with four out of five topics focused on the outcome of the vote. And in the week of June 17-23, the presidential elections were still one of the top issues on the social web. SocialEyez reports that before the election, 86 percent of social media users expressed their intention to vote, whereas 12 percent decided not to cast their ballots. One blogger, Tareq Elmarsawy, declared on the website of al-Masry al-Youm that he “won't give [his] vote to the one who does not deserve it. And … no one deserves it." Nevertheless, 69 percent of all online users supported now President-elect Mohamed Morsi as president, with the most support coming from Twitter users. Only 19 percent of online comments endorsed his opponent Ahmed Shafiq, most of which were found on various news websites. As the voting came to a close on June 17, the proportion of voters, boycotters and supporters of either candidate remained roughly the same. Around 7 percent of bloggers expressed concern about Shafiq's potential victory, warning of chaos and demonstrations, despite widespread media reporting saying chaos and violence was inevitable. Egypt activist Mohammed Maree expressed these sentiments on Twitter: “Shafiq's success must be faced with another revolution where we must expect lakes of blood … the world won't sympathize with us and we must resist." After the announcement of Morsi's victory was made, the online community in the Middle East exploded with conversations about the new president. Within less than 24 hours, Morsi had gained 15,000 followers on Twitter, and his first tweet was re-tweeted over 1,600 times. It stated: “An appreciative and respectful greeting to the honest, fair Egyptian judiciary and brave army and police personnel who protected the democratic process with honesty, and congratulations to all Egyptians." The overall reaction towards Morsi's victory was positive and many users showed a large interest in his first presidential speech – with over 100,000 views on the first day. The report claims that “the majority praised the speech, describing it as emotional and touching, but some also pointed out the need for actions, not just words.” A new “Morsi Meter" was also created on Twitter and Facebook to monitor the accomplishments of Egypt's first democratically elected president.
