Turnout high among rural Egypt voters

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WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- More than seven of 10 adults in rural Egypt voted in the recent parliamentary elections, a Gallup poll shows.

The poll found 72 percent of the rural residents, who comprise 57 percent of Egypt's population, said they had voted in the parliamentary elections from November to January.

By comparison, 79 percent of urban residents said they voted in the paramilitary elections.

Gallup said turnout for the presidential election last month was much lower than in parliamentary elections, but rural voters are expected to play a major role in the presidential runoff between Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq, a former general and ousted President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.

Islamists have historically received grassroots support in the conservative Egyptian countryside, leading some observers to suggest Morsi would be a favorite among rural voters, Gallup said.

But Shafiq's emphasis on law and order also could resonate with the population, which recalls the public order before the revolution that led to Mubarak's ouster, Gallup said.

Results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,086 adults ages 15 and older from Jan. 31 to Feb. 7. The poll has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.