A senior official from the Organization of American States (OAS) welcomed on Friday the measures taken by Peru's electoral bodies to guarantee a fair election on Sunday.

Lloyd Axworthy, head of the OAS observer mission, also urged the candidates to respect the two-day pre-vote silence, which would allow voters to calmly consider their options, adding that the OAS welcomed the public order measures adopted by the Defense and Interior Ministries.

"We are satisfied that the electoral machinery and safeguards will prevent any accusations of fraud," Axworthy said.

Enrique Mendoza, president of the National Election Council Board, said he was sure that the election results would reflect the will of the people, and called on all voters to take part because there was no chance of fraud.

A European Parliament mission of seven deputies, who arrived in Lima on Thursday, will also check the election by interviewing officials from the electoral bodies, as well as President Alejandro Toledo and Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua.

Although 20 candidates are running for presidency, polls show only three of them have a serious chance of winning -- Ollanta Humala of Peru's Nationalist Union, Lourdes Flores from the right-wing National Union, and Allan Garcia representing the social democratic PAP.

Around 16.5 million Peruvians, including 400,000 living overseas, are eligible to vote for the president, 120 legislators and five deputies for the Andean Parliament. Around 88,000 ballot boxes have been set up to serve around 200 voters each.

A total of some 130 observers will monitor the vote in 25 electoral districts.

Source: Xinhua