Workers walk by an electoral billboard reading in Arabic "register and vote before missing your chance" in Libya's capital Tripoli on December 14, 2021. Libya is to hold its first ever presidential elections late next week, but the lack of a final list of candidates and bitter political divisions have cast doubt on whether they will take place. Photo: AFP

Armed groups deployed in the suburbs of Libya's capital on Tuesday, sparking security fears ahead of an expected delay of presidential elections, as three key candidates met in the country's east.

The vote was meant to cap a UN-led peace process after a cease-fire between eastern and western camps in 2020, but with no final candidate list published just two days ahead of polling, few believe they will go ahead.

The political uncertainty has raised tensions on the ground across Libya, controlled by an array of armed groups in a decade of conflict following the 2011 revolt that overthrew longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Images posted online early Tuesday showed a tank and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns in Fornaj district, where some roads were blocked by armed men.

Schools and the University of Tripoli closed as a precaution but there were no firefights, residents told AFP.

It was the latest in a string of security incidents ahead of scheduled elections that have been undermined by divisions over their legal framework and the candidacies of several divisive figures.

One of the most controversial is eastern-based military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who from 2019 waged a year-long but ultimately failed campaign to seize Tripoli by force.

On Tuesday, he met with two other leading presidential candidates from western Libya, ex-interior minister Fathi Bashagha and former deputy prime minister Ahmed Maiteeq, in Benghazi.

The content of their talks was not disclosed, but an adviser to Bashagha told AFP that the reason for the visit was to "break down obstacles... and show that it is possible to unite."

Haftar is not the only divisive front-runner in the polls. Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, son of Moamer, is also in the running.

AFP