The United States, France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain are urging Libyan political leaders to accelerate the establishment of a legal basis for holding elections in the war-torn country.
"We call on the House of Representatives, the High State Council and their leaders to urgently finalize the legal basis so that credible, transparent and inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections can be held as soon as possible," said a joint statement by the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
The statement praised progress made in U.N.-brokered talks of the Libyan constitutional committee held in Cairo last week to agree on a constitutional framework for holding the polls.
"We stress the need for a unified Libyan government able to govern and deliver these elections across the country, achieved through dialogue and compromise as soon as possible," the statement said.
The five countries reiterated rejection of "actions that could lead to violence or to greater divisions in Libya, such as the creation of parallel institutions, any attempt to seize power through force, or refusal of peaceful transition of power to a new executive formed through a legitimate and transparent process."
"We urge Libyan political leaders to engage constructively in negotiations, including through the good offices of UNSMIL, to unlock the executive impasse and agree on a pathway to elections," they added.
Tensions over a political standoff between the government that was installed last year through a U.N.-backed process and a rival administration appointed by parliament have added to fears of an escalation.
National elections have long been held up as a crucial element in any long-term solution to Libya's decade of chaos and conflict since the 2011 NATO-backed ousting of Moammar Gadhafi.
Presidential and parliamentary elections that were planned for December 2021 as part of a peace process after a truce in the civil war in 2020 fell apart at the last minute because of disputes over the rules.
Libya's rival factions have since come to a standoff over how to move the political process forward and who should rule the country in the meantime.
The eastern-based House of Representatives parliament said in December that the Tripoli administration of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah had expired and it announced a new political roadmap and appointed Fathi Bashagha to replace him.
However, Dbeibah has rejected parliament's moves and refused to hand over power, leaving Bashagha unable to enter Tripoli or take over control of the government.
Under an internationally recognized 2015 political agreement, major decisions need the involvement of both the House of Representatives and another legislative body, the High State Council, which is in Tripoli.
The United Nations has been facilitating talks between the two chambers in Cairo to try to bridge their differences and find agreement on how to hold elections to resolve the crisis.