Libya's High Council of State approved a constitutional amendment to provide a foundation for elections, but there seems to be little progress on disputes in the way of polls in the country.
Earlier this week, a special United Nations envoy for Libya moved to take charge of a stalled political process to enable elections that are seen as the path to resolving years of conflict.
Libya has been locked in a political stalemate since late 2021 when a scheduled election was canceled because of disputes over the rules and the eastern-based parliament, the House of Representatives, withdrew support from the U.N.-recognized interim government.
Peacemaking efforts since then have focused on getting the House of Representatives and the High State Council to agree on a constitutional basis for elections and voting rules.
Thursday's vote approved a constitutional amendment issued last month by the House of Representatives and was presented as a step toward holding elections.
Foreign powers have long indicated that significant political changes need the approval of the House of Representatives and the High State Council under a 2015 agreement intended to establish a short transitional period that would ultimately resolve the conflict.
On Monday, U.N. envoy Abdoulaye Bathily cited that 2015 agreement to say he was setting up a steering committee of prominent Libyan figures to adopt a time-bound roadmap to elections.
In remarks aimed at the House of Representatives, elected in 2014, and the High State Council, which emerged from a chamber elected in 2012, he said that "most institutions lost their legitimacy years ago."
Before it was approved, Bathily described the amendment as "controversial within the Libyan political class and general citizenry," noting it did not address contentious issues such as candidate eligibility or create a clear election timeline.
Many Libyans have grown skeptical that their political leaders are negotiating in good faith, saying their true goal is to delay any election that could cost them positions of power and privilege.
Tim Eaton of the Chatham House think-tank in London said the amendment made it harder to sideline the two chambers.
"There is a 'breakthrough' every time it looks like the House of Representatives and High State Council are going to lose control of the process," he said.
He added that the latest amendment appeared to create new labyrinthine processes that would only trigger subsequent processes later, calling it "process for process's sake."
