Iraq's current president, Jalal Talabani, is a Kurd and he has said he wants to be reappointed once a new government is formed after parliamentary elections that took place on Sunday.

"The declarations of Hashemi aim at reawakening chauvinistic sentiments but the Iraqi constitution stipulates equality among all Iraqis regardless of religion or ethnicity," a statement from the government of the autonomous Kurdish region said.

Hashemi "undermines the foundations of the new democratic Iraq," said the statement, translated from Arabic.

The vice president had said earlier that "Iraq is an Arab country and it is legitimate that an Arab be appointed head of state."

He added, however, that he believed it was also "legitimate" for Kurds to want a Kurd in the position.

Currently there are two vice presidents, one a Sunni and one a Shiite. That arrangement is due to be abandoned when the next government is formed, leaving just the president's post.

Sunnis are a minority in Iraq but ruled the country since its creation in 1920.

Since the 2003 US-led ouster of Saddam Hussein, Shiites have dominated the political landscape nationally, while the Kurds have been able to run their autonomous region in the north.