"Such recurrent political and social pressures that seek to affect the fairness of the polling process do not live up to the internationally-approved criteria,” the National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) said in a statement.

The NCHR urged the government to shoulder its responsibilities in "exposing such practices and applying Article 20 of the election law” that prohibits all forms of election fraud, including vote buying.

According to judicial sources, Article 20 provides for a punishment of seven years in jail for all those found guilty of buying and selling votes.

The NCHR remarks could give credibility to the country’s main opposition party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), and its parent group, the Muslim Brotherhood, which had decided to boycott the polling process along with the allied left-leaning Popular Unity Party (PUP), diplomats said.

The IAF and the PUP cited the government’s failure to provide adequate assurances that the election "will not be rigged” as happened in the 2007 elections when the NCHR also reported "irregularities” in the polling process.

The NCHR warning coincided with the government’s declaration that it had finalized all arrangements for the parliamentary elections on Tuesday.

A total of 763 candidates are competing for the lower house’s 110 seats.

"The government is keen to ensure the elections are conducted in a transparent and fair manner that restores confidence of citizens in the polling process,” said Samih Maaytah, political adviser to Prime Minister Samir Rifai.

He said that the authorities would deal firmly wit all cases of vote buying and other fraud practices. "All cases of vote buying so far investigated by the authorities have turned out to lack evidence,” he added.