Fighting broke out in the Iraqi parliament on Wednesday following an overnight sit-in by members protesting over Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's proposed new cabinet list.

Speaker Salim al-Jibouri subsequently asked President Muhammad Fuad Masum to dissolve parliament in response to attempts by MPs to unseat him with high-level meetings now believed to be underway with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

This is expected to be followed up by a second meeting between the three men and representatives from Iraq's various political blocks.

According to Iraq's constitution, a dissolution can only take place if the majority of MPs agree to a request by at least one third of the assembly, or at the request of the prime minister on approval from the president.

The dissolution of parliament threatens to create a political vacuum while new elections are held in a country facing war, corruption and a huge budget deficit.

An emergency session to discuss Abadi's proposals for a new cabinet list was postponed following the clashes which came after Kurdish MPs entered the chamber to confront those involved in the sit-in.

According to the Reuters news agency, Kurdish and Shia MPs began to tussle in Parliament, shoving and hitting each other, according to witnesses.

The Kurds opposed a demand by some Shia MPs to seek the resignation of President Muhammad Fuad Masum, a Kurd, together with Jabouri, a Sunni, and Abadi, a Shia, witnesses told Reuters.

Opponents of Abadi's proposals accuse him of perpetuating the system of ministries being distributed according to political quotas.

Abadi originally proposed a government of technocrats to replace the current party affiliated ministers, but has faced major obstacles from powerful parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.

Abadi was then pressured into giving way and presented a new list of candidates to Jubouri earlier this week, sparking divisions between those who supported and those who opposed the lineup.

But with major disagreement over the proposed list of candidates, the session was postponed until Thursday, Jubouri's office said.

MPs chanted "the people want the fall of the quotas!" after the session ended, according to video shot inside parliament.

The phrase is a variation on "the people want the fall of the regime," which was chanted at Arab Spring protests against despots across the region.

More than 100 MPs then began a sit-in inside parliament to protest against the delay of the session, MPs Haider al-Kaabi and Iskander Witwit told AFP by telephone.

"We announced an open sit-in inside parliament because of the postponement of the session until Thursday," said Kaabi.