Tens of thousands of protesters marched on Monday in Hong Kong to denounce the city’s leaders and demand universal suffrage on the 16th anniversary of the territory’s handover to China.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched on Monday in Hong Kong to denounce the city’s leaders and demand universal suffrage on the 16th anniversary of the territory’s handover to China.

Demonstrators started off from the city’s Victoria Park to the financial district bearing banners reading “Democracy now” and “Down with the Chinese Communist Party.”

The main goal was “to push through for genuine democracy” and to ask for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to step down, Jackie Hung, of the Civil Human Rights Front, which is organizing the march, told Agence France Presse.

A widening income gap and soaring property prices have also contributed to the turnout.