BAGHDAD – Hundreds of Iraqi Christians rallied in northern Iraq on Sunday to protest a new elections law they say denies them their rights because it doesn't guarantee their minority any seats on provincial councils.

In violence, at least 25 people were killed by attacks in Baghdad and restive Diyala province, including a series of car bombings in the capital that targeted shoppers.

Amid growing criticism of the provincial election law, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed to parliament and the electoral commission to restore the quotas guaranteed for minority goups by the old election law.

“The minorities should be fairly represented in the provincial councils and their rights should be guaranteed,” al-Maliki said in a letter received by parliament Sunday, according to Wissam al-Zubeidi, an aide to deputy parliament speaker Khalid al-Attiyah.

Hundreds of Christians staged street protests after Sunday church services in and around Mosul, a northern city where many of the country's Christians live. Some said the removal of the quota was an attempt to marginalize Christians and push them to leave Iraq.

Iraq's estimated 1 million Christians have been targeted by Muslim militants since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, with priests, churches and Christian-owned businesses attacked. The violence has led many of Christians to flee the country.

“This is an unjust decision and it affects our rights as Christians,” Matti Galia, a local politician, said at a rally in Mosul. “We are original citizens in this country. The politicians' goal was to divide the Iraqi people and create more struggles. Indirectly, they are telling us to leave Iraq.”

Parliament approved a law Wednesday that paves the way for the first provincial elections in four years. Lawmakers did not set aside any seats specifically for Christians or other minorities, citing a lack of census data to determine what the quotas should be.

The day's worst violence was in Baghdad, where police and hospital officials said at least 17 people were killed and 26 wounded by car bombings aimed at shoppers making last-minute purchases before breaking their Ramadan fast.

Earlier in the capital, snipers fired on an army checkpoint, killing two Iraqi soldiers and a civilian in the eastern Zayona neighborhood. A roadside bomb also killed an Iraqi soldier on a patrol in Mansour, a mostly Sunni area in western Baghdad, police officials said.

Two civilians were killed in an armed attack in the town of Khan Bani Saad by a group believed tied to al-Qaeda, a police official in Diyala province said. The town is near the provincial capital of Baqouba.

The same official said two Iraqi soldiers were killed and 10 wounded when a bomb targeted them in Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad late Saturday. A medic at the Balad Ruz hospital said the wounded suffered burns and shrapnel wounds and were later taken by U.S. soldiers to a military base.

Also Sunday, an Iraqi official said the country signed preliminary deals with General Electric Co. and Siemens AG to upgrade the electricity grid, which has been ravaged by years of war, sanctions and neglect.

Electricity Ministry spokesman Aziz Sultan said GE will supply turbines to some of Iraq's power plants. He said Iraq has also signed a similar memorandum of understanding with a third company but he had no details about it.

Lengthy power outages have been common in Iraq, with some Baghdad areas getting as little as four hours of electricity a day. The problem has been a major cause of discontent during the summer when the heat is punishing.

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Bushra Juhi contributed to this report.