In the latest Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) polling NPP/JVP leader’s A.K. Dissanayake’s favourability rating continued to improve, becoming net positive overall at +7. President Ranil Wickremasinghe’s favourability improved 29 points from -68 in March to -39 in April. The public however, continued to have a more unfavourable opinion of him than SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, whose favourability rating changed little (-31 in March to -26 in April). President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (-94) continued to have the most negative ratings.

Favourability estimates for each month are based on 100–400 interviews conducted during that month and during a few weeks before and afterwards to ensure a minimum set of responses. The April 2023 estimates are based on 383 (Sajith Premadasa), 311 (AK Dissanayake), 388 (Ranil Wickremasinghe) and 139 (Gotabaya Rajapaksa) interviews.

Note to editors

We have noted that some members of the public misunderstand media reporting of these numbers. Negative scores, i.e., a net favourability rating of less than zero, means that the individual or institution is UNPOPULAR. Only positive scores, i.e., net favourability is more than zero, mean that the individual or institution is POPULAR on average. 

About IHP

IHP is an independent, non-partisan research centre based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The SLOTS lead investigator is Dr Ravi Rannan-Eliya of IHP, who has trained in public opinion polling at Harvard University and has conducted numerous surveys over three decades. 

Methodology

SLOTS surveys a national sample of adults (ages 18 and over) reached by random digit dialling of mobile numbers, and others coming from a national panel of respondents who were previously recruited through random selection. SLOTS tracks favourability by asking respondents if they have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of a public figure or institution: net favourability being the average of the positive (+100) and negative (-100) responses. All estimates are weighted to match the national population with respect to age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sector, province. Monthly estimates are based on samples of 100+ interviews pooled from interviews in each month and from weeks before and afterwards.

Funding

The SLOTS has been funded by the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), The Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka, and others, but the sponsors play no role in the study design, analysis, or interpretation of findings. Interested parties can contact IHP for more detailed data and results.