Election re-runs in northern Ivory Coast

Voting is taking place in more than twenty parliamentary constituencies in northern Ivory Coast, where violence during last month's general election forced balloting to be postponed.

The voting -- under strict security -- began slowly, with polling stations opening late and little apparent public interest.

The north is a stronghold of the opposition leader, Alassane Ouattara, who was banned from standing in the general election on the grounds of nationality.

His party the Rally for Republicans has called for a peaceful boycott of today's voting.

A BBC correspondent in the region says the exclusion of Mr Ouattara was seen by northerners as an attempt to exclude them from power.

Today's voting comes a week after a failed coup against President Laurent Gbagbo, whose main support is in the south.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service