Baghdad, Jun 21 (IANS): The Iraq government announced that provincial elections will be held on December 18, more than 10 years after the last polls took place in April 2013.

The new date was set "in line with the government program approved by the parliament last October", the media office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said in a statement.

The elections will cover 15 out of the 18 provinces, excluding the three under the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, reports Xinhua news agency.

In March, Parliament had set Noveber 6 as the date for the provincial elections.

On Monday, the Independent High Electoral Commission announced in a statement that it has decided to open the door for the registration of alliances and parties wishing to participate in the provincial council elections from July 1 to 30.

Provincial elections were scheduled to take place in 2018 but got repeatedly delayed because of disagreements among political parties.