Libya holds municipal elections in first vote for five years

A man casts his vote during the municipal election at a polling station in Zwara, Libya March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya held rare municipal elections in nine communities on Saturday, although turnout in the country's first voting for five years reached only about 38 percent.

The North African state, which has been mired in conflict and chaos since the 2011 toppling of Muammar Gaddafi, has not held any elections since 2014, when a heavily contested national vote ended up splitting the country into rival administrations and parliaments.