A poll conducted by Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies has shown that presidential candidates Ahmed Shafiq and Amr Moussa would benefit from the ouster of presidential hopeful Omar Suleiman.

Shafiq would benefit by 40 percent and Moussa by 27.4 percent.

The poll also showed that the exclusion of Salafi hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail and Muslim Brotherhood nominee Khairat al-Shater will prove troublesome for their supporters because Shater is the second preference for a quarter of Abu Ismail’s proponents, while Abu Ismail is the also the second-best choice for 27 percent of Shater’s supporters.

The poll has shown that the Muslim Brotherhood’s reserve candidate, Mohamed Morsy, is not a preferable replacement for Shater supporters, with only 13.3 percent saying they would pick Morsy next to Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh. This result shows that the bloc that supports Shater may not be as coherent as it seems.

According to the poll, the competition for the presidency will intensify as the vote, slated for 23 and 24 of May, draws closer. The poll shows that liberal and socialist candidates have limited chances of winning and that the competition is mainly between Islamist candidates and candidates who held posts in the Mubarak regime.

The poll was conducted between 7 and 10 April, roughly around the time Suleiman made his decision to run in the election. The survey was conducted using a sample from governorates across Egypt, excluding border governorates.

Candidates were grouped into three categories: liberal and socialist, Islamist and those who held posts in the Mubarak regime.