Prep starts for Kurdish vote in Iraq BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- U.N. authorities are working with officials in the Kurdish provinces of Iraq as they plan for September elections, a U.N. envoy said. Elections for provincial council members in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of Iraq are scheduled for Sept. Martin Kobler, U.N. special representative for Iraq, said he was working with Iraqi election authorities to help prepare for the vote. "Our objective is to contribute to further strengthening and consolidating a professional and sustainable electoral administration in Iraq," he told a delegation from Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission. The United Nations said it assisted with seven major electoral events in Iraq since 2004. The next round of national provincial council elections is scheduled for early 2013. "Your efforts have created a solid foundation for your successors to ensure the rights of Iraqi voters to choose their leaders and policies in a fair, legal process," Kobler said. Iraq set a record following 2009 parliamentary elections for the longest period of time between an election and forming a new government. Political disputes flared in Iraq almost as soon as U.S. military forces pulled out of the country in December.