AFP - Iraqi leaders agreed a compromise on a key election law on Monday, the deputy parliament speaker said, amid growing concerns that polls scheduled for January might have to be delayed.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, parliament speaker Iyad al-Samarrai and other leaders drafted a new text that they will present to party leaders and senior lawmakers on Tuesday, Khalid al-Attiya told AFP.

"An agreement was reached today on a proposal for the amendment of the election law," said Attiya, a Shiite member of parliament for the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC).

"The speaker's office will present the accord to party leaders on Tuesday, and, if there is agreement, the bill will be put to a vote," he said, adding that it was still unclear when the new text would go before parliament.

Attiya said he did not have details of its contents.

At issue are proposed changes to the law that would require parties to publish full lists of their candidates, in contrast to the current closed list system whereby voters see only party names.

Another major hurdle has been the lack of agreement over the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, which the Kurds have long demanded be incorporated in their autonomous region in the north despite the opposition of its Arab and Turkmen communities.

Some parties are reportedly delaying putting the bill to the vote so they can avoid publicly advocating the closed system but ensure the same result by forcing the government to fall back on the existing legislation.

Respected independent Kurdish MP Mahmud Othman said the new draft includes a requirement for parties to publish full lists of their candidates.

He said it also provides for a review of voter registration lists in "all the areas where there is doubt over an increase in population, without referring to a province or specific area."

Pressure has been placed on Iraqi MPs to reach agreement on the new law from a wide variety of sources, including US President Barack Obama, the United Nations and Iraqi religious leaders, as well as the prime minister.

The political deadlock threatens the poll as the electoral law is supposed to be in place 90 days before voting takes place.

Constitutionally, the election must be held by January 31. It is currently scheduled for January 16.