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Egypt's electoral commission says it will not allow independent groups to

monitor Wednesday's presidential election, defying a court ruling.

The commission said only supervisors, candidates and their representatives

would be allowed in polling stations.

 

The decision has fuelled fears of vote rigging in the country's first

multi-candidate presidential poll.

 

Campaigning ends on Sunday, with incumbent President Hosni Mubarak widely

expected to win.

 

Mr Mubarak, who has been in power for 24 years, is running for another

six-year term against eight other candidates.

 

On Saturday, the Egyptian judiciary overruled a ban by the

government-appointed commission prohibiting local non-governmental

organisations (NGOs) from monitoring the poll.

 

But the electoral commission chief, Osama Attawiyah, told the BBC that the

ban would remain in force.

 

He also said the commission would consider invalid a court decision to

exclude one of the presidential candidates.

 

International monitors are not being allowed to observe the elections

either, giving rise to fears the election process will not be transparent.

 

Domestic issues

 

President Mubarak, meanwhile, is due to round off his campaign with a huge

rally in Cairo on Sunday.

 

The BBC's Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi in Cairo says although most

Egyptians believe this is an election with a foregone conclusion, 18 days of

campaigning have created a lively debate about the country's many social and

economic ills.

 

As a result, for the first time in many years, public attention has focused

on domestic problems instead of the usual geo-political conflicts, such as

the Arab-Israeli disputes or the violence in Iraq, our analyst says.

 

He says unemployment, corruption and poor public services are among the many

issues that Mr Mubarak has had to defend his record on.

 

Mr Mubarak's well-choreographed campaign emphasised his experience and the

stability he has brought to Egypt in a turbulent region.

 

His rivals promised a more radical constitutional reform than the one under

which Egypt is having its first contested presidential election.