High stakes as restive Benghazi votes in Libyan local polls

A man casts his ballot to vote in the municipal election at a polling station in Benghazi April 19, 2014. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

BENGHAZI (Reuters) - Libyan voters went to the polls on Saturday to elect municipal council members in 15 cities, including Benghazi, the country's second city, which is seeking greater autonomy for the eastern seaboard region.

With 41 more municipalities due to vote in the next three weeks, the elections pose an organisational and security challenge for a country that is still riven by factional fighting, nearly three years after the civil war that toppled veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi.