El Salvador's highest electoral body called Tuesday for international election observers to be sent early after political violence claimed two lives ahead of parliamentary elections this month. The country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) asked the UN, European Union and Organization of American States to hasten sending observers after a shooting in the capital San Salvador on Sunday in the midst of electoral campaigning. Two activists were killed and five wounded when after an assailant opened fire on members of the country's leftist FMLN party, officials said, in one of the worst political attacks in decades. It happened days after President Nayib Bukele criticized the peace deal signed between the army and the FMLN, then a guerilla group, to end a civil war in 1992. Two government employees and a private security guard have been arrested in the case. No group has taken responsibility for the shooting, which came amid fierce campaigning for legislative and local elections to be held in the small Central American nation on February 28. The TSE in a statement urged international bodies "to advance their observer missions to the country in order to monitor, prevent and denounce any act of political violence." The observers were meant to arrive a week before the poll. The tribunal said it wished to prevent any actions that could "tarnish" the election, also citing recent death threats levelled against judges. And it urged supporters of rival parties to "respect" one another and ensure a peaceful poll. Some 5.4 million Salvadorians will vote for 84 national lawmakers and 262 local representatives from ten political groups. President Bukele's New Ideas (NI) party leads in the polls. cmm/mav/mlr/st