Tripoli, Feb 4 (IANS): The UN envoy to Libya stressed the need to hold national elections in the north African country.

Abdoulaye Bathily, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, made his remarks during a meeting with the National Consensus Bloc in the High Council of State, where he heard their assessment and ideas to overcome the political impasse through an initiative they presented, reports Xinhua news agency.

"In this context, I emphasized the need for political leaders to rise up to the expectations of the 2.8 million Libyans who registered to vote and the need for the HCS (High Council of State) and HoR (House of Representatives) to positively, constructively and fully engage to reach a constitutional basis for elections as soon as possible," Bathily tweeted.

He also reiterated the importance of holding inclusive elections as the only way to bring about peace and stability in Libya.

Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021 as previously scheduled because of disagreements over election laws among the Libyan parties.

In January, Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah said his government is ready to hold general elections this year.

Ever since the fall of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid escalating violence and political division.