Hong Kong’s chief executive has called on the public to safeguard stability, as tens of thousands prepared to march through the streets to campaign for democracy, on a day that could see the territory’s largest street protests in a decade.

“Only by maintaining Hong Kong’s stability can we sustain our economic prosperity,” said Leung Chun-ying, who has been the city’s top politician since 2012, in a speech on Tuesday to mark the 17th anniversary of the handover to China. “Only by sustaining Hong Kong’s prosperity can we improve people’s livelihood.”

Mr Leung added that universal suffrage was a “common aspiration” of leaders in Beijing and Hong Kong, and that he was working to forge a consensus in the community over how it would be implemented for the next election in 2017.