"It is doubtful that the Kurdistan parliamentary elections will be held this year, due to the continued differences between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Kurdistan Patriotic Union of Kurdistan," the London-based newspaper Al-Arab reported.

"The failure to hold the elections on schedule raises questions about the legitimacy of the region, but this does not seem to be important to the Kurdish political forces, which each party is trying to impose conditions for the elections according to their interests."

"The main point of disagreement with the PUK is not agreeing on the system for minorities, the PUK demands the distribution of seats among the provinces," a source in the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said.

"The Christian and Turkmen minorities are in Duhok and Erbil provinces and a very small number live in Sulaimani and Halabja. The UN proposed to allocate the last two seats for Sulaimani province, but the PUK is still unhappy," it said.

"The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has been accused of using the latter to its advantage and directing its supporters to vote for certain candidates," the newspaper reported.

In a report released in February, the UN envoy said its representatives met with minority representatives and visited residential areas to find out their position on the electoral system.

Minorities have expressed frustration with those they represent in parliament, believing they are under the command of the two parties, and the election commission has lost its independence because its members are appointed by the parties.