Sri Lanka does not need a 'terminator' as a Presidential candidate, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

"Sri Lanka is in need of a candidate who will protect the country's future, not a terminator who will destroy everything," Wickremesinghe said, addressing a gathering of the UNP's Local Government representatives.

He was responding to a statement made by former Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would be a "terminator" of corruption.

Wickremesinghe also added that the country which was painstakingly revived over the past four years should not be given to a "terminator".

He also requested the Local Government members of the UNP to come forward to protect the country from terminators.