The first phase of voting for Kerala’s local body elections concluded on Tuesday with overall voter turnout reaching 70.9% by 6.30 pm. Voting started at 7 am for the local bodies in seven districts such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam and by 2 pm, the polling percentage crossed 50 per cent, according to the State Election Commission (SEC) figures.
Ernakulam records highest voting percentage
District-wise polling percentages included Thiruvananthapuram 67.4%, Kollam – 70.36%, Pathanamthitta – 66.78%, Alappuzha – 73.76%, Kottayam – 70.94%, Idukki – 71.77%, and Ernakulam – 74.58%. Polling was held until 6 PM, and voters already in the queue were allowed to cast their votes even after the closing time.
Alappuzha, Idukki, Ernakulam emerge top-performing districts
Alappuzha, Idukki, and Ernakulam emerged as the top-performing districts, each recording over 70 per cent voter participation.
During the day, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kollam continued to lead in voter participation, while Thiruvananthapuram and Idukki remained at the lower end of the turnout chart.
This time, a total of 36,620 candidates are contesting for 11,167 wards in 595 local bodies across the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam.
Electorates in the remaining districts--Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, Wayanad and Kasaragod-- will vote on December 11.
2,86,62,712 voters are eligible vote this time
According to the Election Commission, 2,86,62,712 voters are eligible to decide the outcome of 75,632 candidates contesting in 23,576 wards across the state in the two phases. Results for all 1,199 local bodies are scheduled to be announced on December 13. The election is being closely watched as a semi-final for the main political battle in the southern state.
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Kerala local body elections 2025: 15 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9 am in Phase 1 polling
