United States: New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin faces a run-off with fellow-Democrat Mitch Landrieu after topping the poll but failing to win a majority of votes in Saturday's mayoral election.
Mr Nagin, who won praise for staying in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit the city but was criticised for his handling of the crisis, polled better than expected, winning 38 per cent of the vote.
Mr Landrieu, who is Louisiana's lieutenant governor, won 28 per cent, while Ron Forman, the chief executive of New Orleans zoo, won 17 per cent.
The outcome of the May 20th run-off could hinge on how Mr Forman's supporters - who include many of the city's wealthiest, white business people - will vote.
Tracking polls suggested that fewer than 10 per cent of those who voted for Mr Nagin were white, although one in three of those who voted for Mr Landrieu was black.
Mr Nagin lost the support of many white voters when he declared earlier this year that, when New Orleans is rebuilt, it should be a "chocolate city" with an African-American majority.
He said he was "humbled" by the support he received in Saturday's vote, but expressed delight at confounding predictions that he would lose the election.
"There have been too many people who have said we were dead. There are too many people that said we were way too divisive. There are too many people who thought this city should go in a different direction. But the people - the people - have said they like the direction we're going in and we have run number one today," he said.
The mayor acknowledged criticism of his personal style and the difficulties he has faced in working with state and federal officials, but portrayed his idiosyncrasies as evidence of his authenticity.
"I am a doer. I am a pusher. I am a maverick. I cross the line periodically. But I am you and I love this city," he said.
If Mr Landrieu wins next month's run-off, he will become the first white mayor of New Orleans since his father, Moon Landrieu, left office in 1978. Mr Landrieu's sister Mary is a Louisiana Democratic senator.
Mr Landrieu said his strong showing indicated that the people of New Orleans wanted to unite, regardless of race, to rebuild their crippled city.
"Today, in this great American city, African-American and white, Hispanic and Vietnamese, almost in equal measure, came forward to propel this campaign forward and loudly proclaim that we in New Orleans will be one people. We will speak with one voice and we will have one future," he said.
Less than half of New Orleans pre-Katrina population of almost half a million has returned to the city, and most of those who remain displaced are black.
The election campaign has not, so far, engaged with the central issues facing the city - the future of the most badly damaged districts that may be sparsely resettled and what level of services should be offered to those who return to such districts.
The diaspora played a negligible role in the campaign and African-American leaders, including Rev Jesse Jackson, have charged that tens of thousands of evacuees in cities such as Houston and Atlanta were disenfranchised by a decision not to allow them to vote by satellite.