NEW YORK, 06 March 2022, (TON): The United Nations’ top official in conflict-scarred Libya has offered to mediate between political rivals in a renewed push for long-delayed elections, warning against escalation after a parallel government took office.

Stephanie Williams’ call came a day after the country’s eastern-based parliament swore in a prime minister in a challenge to interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Deibah a move observers fear could tip Libya into a new schism.

Williams, UN chief Antonio Guterres’s special adviser on Libya, warned in a series of tweets that “the solution to Libya’s crisis does not lie in forming rival administrations and perennial transitions”.

She said “she had asked the eastern-based House of Representatives and the High Council of State, an upper house based in Tripoli, to nominate six delegates each to form a joint committee dedicated to developing a consensual constitutional basis.”

According to Williams, once the politicians appoint a committee, it would meet on March 15 under UN auspices for two weeks, to work towards a constitutional framework for elections. Williams also asked Libyans to refrain “from all acts of escalation, intimidation, kidnapping, provocation & violence”.