The lower house of the Russian Parliament, the State Duma, has re-elected the Communist deputy, Gennady Seleznyov, as its speaker.

The vote in the opening session of the house took place only after all other candidates withdrew, and more than one-hundred deputies had left the chamber.

They were protesting at what they say was a deal between the Communists and the Kremlin-backed Unity movement to re-elect Mr Seleznyov.

The Communists remain the largest party following elections last month, but Unity performed strongly.

At the opening of the session, the acting President, Vladimir Putin, called for an end to years of conflict between the Duma and the Kremlin over government plans for reform.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service