Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki warned on Wednesday of delaying the April 30 parliamentary elections after electoral commission chiefs quit over political interference.

"After all the members of the commission presented their resignations, the electoral process is in danger, and the whole political process become in danger," Maliki said in his weekly televised speech.

"We are afraid that the elections could be delayed, but according to the constitution, there is no party that has the right to delay the elections. We will enter a tunnel we might not be able to get out of it," he said.

Maliki noted that the parliament should not issue decisions and orders, but only legislation and amendments. He said that such decisions must be presented by the Council of Ministers, then to be discussed by the parliament and vote on it. Only then the commission will be obliged to apply it.

Maliki also called on the commission's chiefs to withdraw their resignations, and called on the parliament to amend the elections law as soon as possible according to legal procedures.

On Tuesday, the nine-member board of the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission presented their resignations collectively to protest continuing pressures on their work pushed by the conflict of political parties.

A statement by the commission said that great pressures have been practiced on the commission by the dispute between the legislative parliament and the judiciary authorities, as both issued conflicted decisions to interpret articles from the elections law related to conditions of banning candidates from participating in the April 30 parliamentary elections.

The commissioners said they took the decision of resignation because they do not want to be part of such a conflict and to preserve the independence of the commission.