Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr told followers Wednesday to continue their sit-in inside Iraq’s government zone, and called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections, signaling a deepening power struggle with his rivals.
![Powerful Iraqi cleric calls for early elections as political crisis escalates](https://s.france24.com/media/display/34936992-135d-11ed-80a0-005056bfa79e/w:1024/p:16x9/000_32FX6DK.jpg)
Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr told followers Wednesday to continue their sit-in inside Iraq’s government zone, and called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections, signaling a deepening power struggle with his rivals.