Iraqi PM calls for long-delayed Kirkuk vote

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on Sunday for long-delayed local elections to be held in the ethnically divided northern oil hub of Kirkuk, a statement from his office said.

"The government is trying to organise the election of the Kirkuk provincial council before the next parliamentary vote" which is due next January 31, Maliki said.

"The Kirkuk problem cannot be resolved by force," the premier said in reply to questions emailed to his office by journalists, adding that he expected to visit the troubled province soon.

Inter-communal tensions prevented the staging of provincial elections in Kirkuk last January 31, when the rest of Iraq except for the three Kurdish provinces voted for new councils.

Kirkuk has a Kurdish majority but substantial Arab and Turkmen minorities.

Iraqi Kurds, many of whom see Kirkuk's oil wealth as vital to the future viability of their region, have called for the province to be part of their autonomous region.

The national parliament in Baghdad has proposed evenly dividing powers in the local parliament between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen but the Kurds bitterly oppose this, pointing to their superior numbers.

The Baghdad parliament has set up a commission, with United Nations backing, in a bid to find a solution to the issue.