<span style="color: #222222;">In Sri Lanka, thousands of people have gathered in capital Colombo to participate in the protest organized by joint opposition (JO) led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The protests remained peaceful as hundreds of security personnel were deployed to avoid inconvenience to public. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">However, schools closed early and several offices remained closed in view of the protests. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The protest march titled 'Jana Balaya Kolambata' or 'People's power to Colombo' was organized against the selling of national assets, the increasing cost of living, mounting taxes and the deterioration of cultural values. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">JO leader and MP Dinesh Gunawardane said they want to remind the government that it no longer has a mandate to rule the country in the wake of defeat in the local government elections. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">A government minister, however, asserted that the protest was in fear of special courts system established by government to expedite legal cases against former regime.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> JO, after registering victory at the local body polls held in February, has been pressing for early conduct of Parliamentary elections for a fresh mandate. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">However, Parliament term ends in August 2020 and elections cannot be held before February 2020 unless two-thirds of MPs vote to dissolve the Parliament. </span><br />''