A recent poll has shown 72 per cent of Fiji’s population approve of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s performance seven months since the Coalition Government came into power.
Mr Rabuka and four other national leaders – Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka, DPM and Finance Minister Biman Prasad, DPM and Trade Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu – received a thumbs-up for their conduct since the 2022 elections, according to the results of a Tebbutt-Times approval ratings poll.
From July 4 to 12, a random national sample of 1014 adults aged 18 years and above, were polled using random-digit dial computer assisted telephone interviewing.
The respondents were requested to gauge the performance of the leaders in question.
About 72 per cent of the respondents approved of Mr Rabuka’s performance, 3 per cent each disapproved of his performance, refused to answer the question and were unsure.
The remainder rated his performance as “average”.
The poll showed Mr Seruiratu gained 44 per cent approval while 11 per cent disapproved.
Each of the DPMs also received high approval ratings – Mr Gavoka received 58 per cent approval, while Prof Prasad had 66 per cent and Mr Kamikamica achieved 61 per cent approval rating.
However, the poll showed the trio had lower approval ratings in the Western Division compared to the Central Division and combined Northern and Eastern divisions.
Mr Gavoka achieved 51 per cent approval ratings in the Western Division, 61 per cent in the Central Division and 65 per cent in the Northern and Eastern divisions.
Prof Prasad received 59 per cent approval in the West, 70 per cent in the Central Division and 73 per cent in the Northern and Eastern divisions.
Similarly, Mr Kamikamica’s approval in the Western Division stood at 54 per cent, and at 65 per cent across the rest of the country.
According to the researchers, the order of asking about each of the DPMs was rotated between different respondents to minimise bias in the results.
Tebbutt Research was established in 1991 and has offices in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and teams in over 15 countries.
The Tebbutt-Times Poll has been funded by The Fiji Times and conducted independently by Tebbutt Research since 1992.
All Tebbutt-Times opinion polls are conducted in accordance with the world code of practice published by the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), WAPOR (world association of public opinion research) and ESOMAR (world association of market research professionals).
Founder and managing director of Tebbutt Research Caz Tebbutt said public opinion polling had an important role to play in democratic societies, which enabled the opinions of the wider public to be heard.
Similar sentiments were echoed by the Director General of ESOMAR, Joaquim Bretcha.
“Properly conducted public opinion polls remain the best way of providing the public with a voice in decision-making. Among other things, polls transmit citizens’ goals, attitudes, and desires to governments and political parties,” he said.
“Polls improve governments’ and parties’ ability to represent and serve voters.”
Tebbutt Research also holds ISO 20252 certification for social and market research.
