Baghdad , Iraq ( CNN ) -- A Kurdish member of Iraq 's parliament said Monday that the United States is pressuring the `` highest levels of the Kurdish leadership '' to accept a compromise that would dictate how national elections would be held in January . Mahmoud Othman said the United States urged the Kurdish majority in the northern oil-rich province of Kirkuk to agree to a proposal that would settle issues about the law that spells out how the election will be carried out . Vice President Joe Biden broached the issue of elections in telephone calls Sunday with Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani and Speaker of the Parliament Ayad al-Samarrai ' e , said Biden spokesman Jay Carney . `` In both calls , the vice president echoed the president 's position that timely elections are important and that we urge all parties to do their part to make them happen , '' he said . A secure environment and political stability during and after the polls will be key as the United States looks to withdraw combat troops by August , leaving 50,000 in advisory roles , and then withdraw all U.S. forces by the end of 2011 . Some Kurds have complained that the U.S. proposals would favor the province 's Arabs and Turkmen , though it was not clear on what they based that assertion . Kurds have long regarded Kirkuk as an integral part of Kurdistan , and many want to be part of Iraq 's autonomous Kurdish region . Arabs and Turkmen have their claims to the city , and all the groups want their voices and votes to be fairly represented in the political system . Provincial elections that were to have been held in January were postponed indefinitely because officials there could not agree on how to apportion seats among the ethnic groups . Last week , the Kurds threatened to boycott voting on the election law , thereby threatening to delay the election itself , which is scheduled to take place January 16 . The constitution would allow for a delay , but not past January 31 . Iraq 's election commission has said it needs at least 90 days after passage of any election law to prepare to carry out elections , which U.S. and Iraqi government officials call a vital step in Iraqi efforts to solidify a democratic system in the post-Saddam Hussein era . The head of Iraq 's Independent High Electoral Commission , Judge Qassim Aboodi , said Monday that if the law is not passed within a few days , the elections could be threatened altogether . Othman described the U.S. efforts at pushing forward a compromise to the Kurds as being `` counterproductive '' and `` making things worse . '' Though the proposal was submitted by the United Nations , Othman said , `` the U.S. is behind this . '' He said the U.S.-backed plan was not fair and urged that U.S. officials remain neutral . Under Saddam 's regime , Kurds were kicked out of Kirkuk , and many Arabs moved in , a policy called Arabization . But Kurds returned to the city in droves after the regime was toppled . Sharp disagreements exist over which voter registries should be used in the elections , with the Kurds wanting a current one and the Arabs and Turkmen wanting registries from several years ago . As for the lists , politicians disagree over the use of open lists that name candidates and closed lists that name parties . The law used in the 2005 election calls for a closed list . U.S . Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill and Gen. Ray Odierno , the top U.S. officials in Iraq , issued a statement Thursday urging lawmakers to decide that `` rules , procedures , and decisions '' for the election apply only to that vote . They argue that it should not set precedent `` for future political settlements related to Article 140 , demographic change , disputed boundaries , or other contested issues , '' a specific reference to the Kirkuk question . Article 140 is the section of the country 's constitution referencing the issue . CNN 's Mohammed Jamjoom and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this story from Baghdad , Iraq .
Member of CNN says U.S. pushing for agreement on election law . Biden discussed January elections in calls with Arabs political leaders . Kurds have said Turkmen proposals favor Arabs , U.S. . Kurds election commission has called for swift passage of election law .