Quickly after Egypt’s presidential elections came to an end, a few conscientious Egyptian citizens came together to form MorsiMeter, a site aimed at tracking the new president’s progress during his first 100 days in office. Listing the 64 promises made by President Mohamed Morsi as part of his electoral platform, the MorsiMeter documented how many promises the president fulfilled, while also trying to gauge public satisfaction with the changes made. Now that the 100 days have come to an end, the site issued a report in English and Arabic breaking down Morsi’s progress.
At first glance the report shows that Morsi fulfilled 10 out of 64 promises, with 24 currently in progress. The report gives the president a satisfaction rate of 39%, a figure reached by polling just over 3,000 Egyptians from around the country – but the polling was limited to Egyptians with Internet access.
The site focused on the five pillars of Morsi’s electoral platform – traffic, security, bread, fuel, bread and environmental cleanliness. The president’s progress was monitored by keeping close tabs on local Egyptian media – whether state or independent – as well as official statements issued by the presidential office itself.
Each topic is broken down – divided into the plans that have been achieved, those that are in progress, and those that the report describes as not having been “spotted”. The poll conducted showed a general sense of dissatisfaction as far as each individual topic was concerned, with most respondents in each section seeing no improvement in the past 100 days. According to the poll, it’s Egypt’s northern governorates that are least impressed with Morsi’s achievements thus far. Despite a slow pace, security earned Morsi his highest satisfaction rate in all five topics, with an overall satisfaction rate of 43%.
Achievements attributed to Morsi’s name include improving the quality of bread, subsidizing bakeries, launching a telephone and radio service to provide traffic information in major cities, launching reasonably priced waste disposal services, as well as implementing benefits, rewards and promotions for sanitation workers and police officers. According to the report, Morsi has also implemented harsher penalties for fuel smugglers.
Steps that are currently in progress include an increased security presence, implementing a more modernized traffic system, depending on civil society organizations for the distribution of bread, and monitoring environmental violations.
In stark contrast to the mediocre performance that MorsiMeter presents, the president said, during his speech on the occasion of the October 6 celebrations, “What has been achieved is not enough of course, but what has been achieved by professional standards is about 70 percent of what we targeted during those 100 days.” Morsi listed a crackdown on crime, bringing an end to fuel shortages and easing traffic congestion as achievements where he has made significant progress.
There are of course more facets to Morsi’s first 100 days in office that do not adhere to the five categories listed. Morsi continues to be commended for his move to wrestle power from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, as well as his strongly worded statements on Palestine and Syria. However, his achievements have also been peppered by disappointment. While the SCAF has rescinded its politicized role, military leaders have not been held accountable for a brutal transitional period, instead receiving the most prestigious awards the nation has to offer.
While it is impossible to judge Morsi’s presidency on the basis of 100 days alone, MorsiMeter is an initiative that at least sheds light on the president’s progress. The 64 promises made as part of Morsi’s campaign must be taken in that exact context – they were electoral promises made at a time when he found himself pitted against a member of the former regime. Morsi was never going to address Egypt’s traffic problems alone in 100 days, let alone the fuel shortages or the security vacuum left in the wake of the uprising.
The full report can be viewed below: