Armed officers in riot gear will reportedly guard all the polling stations in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for the first time with the district council election drawing near, said the South China Morning Post on Friday.

The police force will maintain a "minimum presence" to avoid arousing fear among voters, said the report.

"On top of security guards, there are also armed police officers in riot control uniform and gear in every polling station. District officers will patrol their own area and handle any disturbance first," the newspaper said, citing a senior police source.

Tang Ping-keung, the new commissioner of police of HKSAR, on Friday, called on protesters that remained at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to leave the campus immediately, adding that he hoped for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

In the past few days, rioters occupied the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, set a footbridge on fire and attacked a police armored vehicle with petrol bombs.

The district council election, scheduled for Sunday, has been overshadowed by the intensifying violence in the region, while an increasing number of candidates have reportedly suffered threats, doxxing and online bullying ahead of the polling day.

The HKSAR government has called for building a peaceful, rational and orderly environment for the upcoming election.

"All sectors of Hong Kong society are looking forward to smooth running of the district election," Cheung Kin-chung, chief secretary for administration, said at a joint press conference on Monday.

Read more: Carrie Lam appeals for peaceful resolution to PolyU occupation