Hundreds of opposition lawmakers, lawyers, activists and trade union members protested in Sri Lanka’s capital Thursday, demanding that the government withdraw proposed legislation they say could undermine judicial independence.

The protest came nearly two weeks after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government submitted a constitutional amendment on judicial reform to Parliament.

The proposed changes would increase the retirement age of the country’s top judges by two years and expand the number of judges on the higher courts. The government says the reforms are aimed at reducing delays in the courts and would not affect judicial independence.

Opposition lawmakers and rights activists, however, accuse the government of seeking greater political control over the judiciary.

Protesters gathered at Colombo’s main railway station, holding banners and placards reading “Don’t touch the judiciary” and “Stop reforms that tarnish judicial independence.”

Opposition lawmaker Ajith Perera called the proposed amendment “draconian,” alleging that it was drafted without consultation with judges, lawyers or other stakeholders and was intended to manipulate the judiciary for political purposes.

No parliamentary debate has yet been scheduled. The amendment requires a two-thirds majority to pass, a threshold the ruling National People’s Power party can meet as it controls more than two-thirds of Parliament.

Dissanayake won the presidency in September 2024, followed by his party’s victory in parliamentary elections later that year, amid public anger over Sri Lanka’s severe 2022 economic crisis, which was blamed on years of mismanagement and corruption.

His government has since launched investigations into alleged corruption and misconduct under previous administrations, with dozens of former government and political officials facing scrutiny.