With Iraq's parliamentary elections around the corner, the different factions of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) grouped under the Fateh coalition banner face great challenges. These obstacles might eventually lead to internal divisions, decreasing the coalition’s chances of victory in the elections, to say the least.

On one level, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential religious and social leader in Shiite circles, opposes PMU participation in the elections, saying the organization’s name is being exploited for electoral gains.

Sistani’s office said in a May 4 statement, “No one is allowed to exploit the religious reference’s title or any other title dear to the hearts of Iraqis for electoral gains,” in reference to the PMU’s victories against the Islamic State (IS).

This is not the first time that Sistani has clearly opposed the PMU’s participation in elections. In his Friday sermon on April 27, Sistani spokesman Abdel Mehdi Karbalai affirmed Sistani’s position and his rejection of candidates who invoke victories against IS in the elections. The PMU was formed following Sistani's 2014 fatwa calling on Iraqis to join the security forces to stop IS after the terrorist organization occupied Mosul and moved toward Baghdad.