Candidates for Libya's parliamentary elections have expressed concern about the current political deadlock in the country and urged the UN mission to include both presidential and parliamentary candidates in the consultations to facilitate a pathway to early elections.

The group expressed their remarks at a meeting with the UN mission Officer in Charge/Mission Coordinator Raisedon Zenenga on Sunday.

A statement by the UN Support Mission In Libya (UNSMIL) on Twitter said the candidates emphasized the importance of focusing all efforts on holding the elections as soon as possible and the need for the HNEC to release the candidate list for the elections.

For his part, Zenenga assured the candidates that the mission and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, Stephanie Williams, are prioritizing elections as the only way out of the current political impasse and stressed the importance of respecting the wishes of Libyan voters and candidates.

Meanwhile, talks between representatives of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State continue in Cairo, under the auspices of the United Nations, to determine a consensual constitutional basis for an electoral process planned for next June.