Shiite leader resigns from Iraqi parliament

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi Parliament has approved the resignation of prominent Shiite leader and head of the Fatah Alliance Hadi al-Amiri, rumoured to be eyeing the presidency of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Amiri sent his letter of resignation to Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi on June 1, and was officially replaced on Saturday by his assistant Abdulkarim Younis Elan - who is yet to be sworn in.

Though it remains unclear as to what prompted Amiri to resign from the parliament, it is rumored that he is vying for the post of head of the PMF, known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic. 

The PMF have dismissed the claims, saying that there are no plans underway to make changes to the leadership structure of the paramilitary group.

The PMF "denies what has been circulating on some media outlets regarding the replacement of the president of the [Hashd al-Shaabi] Board with another person," read a statement from their website.

With 47 seats, the pro-Iran Fatah Alliance came second in the Iraqi parliamentary elections of May 2018, six seats behind Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon Alliance.

The PMF has around 150,000 fighters, according to figures from the group. The force was established in 2014 following a fatwa from Iraqi top Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani in response to the Islamic State (ISIS). 

Iraq’s newly-appointed Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi recently referred to the PMF as a “force of the homeland” following growing internal schisms. 

Since the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq in late 2017, the role of the Hashd has increasingly been called into question, with demands to withdraw units garrisoned in northern areas and to fully integrate them into the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

Hashd units close to Iran are widely accused of abducting and killing protesters during Iraq's recent wave of anti-government unrest. They are also believed responsible for a spate of deadly rocket attacks targeting US and coalition personnel stationed at bases across Iraq.

Sistani-affiliated units, meanwhile, are not known to have fired on protesters, have a generally better human rights record in areas they occupy, and are not implicated in the targeting of foreign troops and infrastructure.