In Sri Lanka, voters have been going to the polls to choose representatives for local government institutions.

In some former conflict areas in the north, Tamils are seeing their first election in 42 years.

While the vote is not of vital national importance, many see it as a litmus test for the government to gauge its popularity among the Tamil population, two years after it crushed the Tamil Tigers.

Al Jazeera's Minelle Fernandez reports from Colombo.