පරණ දෙයියෙක්
| Opposition Leader | Next Presidential Election Outcome |
|---|---|
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1977–1980) | Did not contest in 1982 due to civic rights being stripped (1980). |
| A. Amirthalingam (1980–1983) | TULF boycotted Parliament and was not a serious contender. |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1989–1994) | Did not contest 1989 election; Ranasinghe Premadasa won. |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe (1994–2001, 2004–2015) | Lost 1999 and 2005 presidential elections. |
| Sarath Fonseka (2010–2015) | Lost the 2010 election to Mahinda Rajapaksa. |
| R. Sampanthan (2015–2019) | Did not contest; not a major party presidential candidate. |
| Sajith Premadasa (2019–present) | Lost 2019 election to Gotabaya Rajapaksa. |
So technically, after the introduction of the Executive Presidency in 1978, no Opposition Leader has won a presidential election immediately after serving as Opposition Leader.

