Libyan Interior Minister Abdul Salam Ashour said on Tuesday that preparations in coordination with the United Nations are underway to secure the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya.

"We are currently working on a plan to secure the elections expected to take place this year in Libya," Ashour said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Paris in May hosted a meeting on Libya with the participation of different Libyan parties to end the political crisis.

The parties agreed to hold and commit themselves to "credible" presidential and parliamentary elections slated for Dec. 10.

"As soon as President of the Presidential Council of the Libyan Government of National Accord Fayez Serraj announced the elections on July 20, we formed the Elections Affairs Office based on Resolution No. 1007 of 2018 to follow up the elections issue," Ashour said.

The specialized office was entrusted with preparing security plans for the elections and coordinating with the elections commission on the security issue, the minister noted.

"The time is short, but we are currently working well to try to catch up with the scheduled date if there is no delay or postponement," he explained.

Despite a UN-sponsored political agreement signed in December 2015, Libya remains politically divided between rival authorities in the east and west of the country, both competing for legitimacy.