Voters in northern Sri Lanka are to elect municipal officials in the first post-war polls on Saturday, three months after the military defeated the Tamil Tiger separatists.

The government says it has re-settled several thousand people who fled the final battle of the 25-year civil war and there appears to be a sense of calm not felt in years.

But as David Chater reports, hundreds of thousands are still being held in military-guarded camps and many are sceptical the vote can bring any change.