BAGHDAD, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi parliament Sunday failed to hold an emergency session aimed at reaching an accord on key provincial election legislative bill, vetoed earlier by presidency council, a lawmaker said.

    "The emergency session scheduled to be held today has been adjourned until further notice," Salim al-Jubouri, spokesman of the Accordance Front, a major Sunni Arab bloc in the parliament, told Xinhua.

    The reasons behind the adjournment of the emergency session are that there are no enough lawmakers to reach a quorum and the differences among the political blocs still exist, Jubouri said.

    Iraqi politicians have been holding intensive meetings recently to narrow differences over the provincial election bill before Sunday's parliament session. However, the adjournment signaled that there is no sign of compromise.

    On July 22, the Iraqi parliament approved the law dealing with the disputed oil-rich city of Kirkuk. Two days later, the Iraqi presidency council rejected the bill after a meeting between Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.

    "President Talabani and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi have agreed that the provincial election law contains constitutional and procedural breaches, which are harmful to the climate of national accord," said a statement issued by Talabani office.

    According to Iraqi constitution, the draft law should be delivered to the presidency council for an unanimous approval. The council consists of President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Arab and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite.

    On July 31, the parliament adjourned for a one-month summer recess, but agreed to hold a special session on Aug. 3 to try to resolve the impasse of the provincial election bill by approving anew or a modified one. Electoral officials have said failure to pass the bill could delay the nationwide vote until next year.

    The provincial election law, which should shift more power to local levels, is strongly backed by Washington, as U.S. officials see the voting as another key step in the Iraqi national reconciliation.

    The Sunni Arabs boycotted the election in 2005 for the Shiites and Kurds took control locally, even in some Sunni-dominated regions.

    Yet, the dispute among Iraq's Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen about the control of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk has been the major stumbling block to the passage of the legislation, which should have been completed by June.