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Kerala Local Polls: Phase 1 Records 70.9% Turnout as Phase 2 Voting Set for Thursday

The election authority has pivoted to a high‑security, webcast‑monitored second leg following a largely peaceful first round.

Polling officials check election materials for the first phase of the Kerala local body elections, in Thiruvananthapuram.
An elderly woman casts her vote during the first phase of Kerala local body elections, in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.) (PTI)
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Overview

  • Phase 1 on December 9 covered seven southern districts and logged a provisional 70.9% turnout, with Ernakulam highest and Pathanamthitta lowest, according to SEC data.
  • Polling was largely peaceful, though machine faults delayed voting at some centres, and the SEC ordered a December 11 repoll in Mannanchery after an EVM issue.
  • Elections were postponed in select wards due to candidate deaths, including Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, Onakkoor in Pambakkuda, and Payimbadam in Moothedam.
  • Phase 2 on December 11 will elect representatives in 12,391 wards across 604 local bodies in Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod, with about 1.53 crore voters at 18,274 stations.
  • The SEC has designated 2,055 sensitive booths—1,025 in Kannur—with live webcasting and reinforced police deployment, and counting starts at 8 a.m. on December 13.