Abidjan - A parliamentary election took place in the Ivory Coast yesterday, but turnout appeared low in the capital, Abidjan, after a week dominated by bloody political and ethnic clashes and was virtually nil in the north.
Security was tight at flashpoints in Abidjan and in the north following the exclusion of the former Prime Minister, Mr Alassane Ouattara, from the poll because of doubts about his nationality. But disruption appeared confined to Ouattara's northern power base, where many voters boycotted the poll and loyalists chased away polling officials, smashed ballot boxes and burned ballot papers.
