Hyderabad: Counting of votes in elections to 92 urban local bodies (ULBs) across Andhra Pradesh is underway, with the State Election Commission (SEC) making arrangements at 138 centres to oversee the process.
The elections cover 13 municipal corporations and 79 municipalities and nagar panchayats. Votes are being counted for 3,186 wards, including 804 wards in 13 municipal corporations and 2,382 in 79 municipalities and nagar panchayats, according to information released by the SEC.
The commission has set up 556 counting halls and 6,831 counting tables across the state. A total of 47,817 personnel, including counting supervisors and assistants, have been deployed for the exercise. Of these, 28,182 are engaged in counting for municipal corporations, while 19,635 are assigned to municipalities and nagar panchayats.
The SEC has also installed 1,372 CCTV cameras in strong rooms and counting halls to ensure transparency during the process.
An overall voter turnout of 62.16% was recorded in the elections held on Sunday. According to the final figures released by the state election authorities, 60,22,411 votes were cast out of a total electorate of 96,89,061.
Chimakurthy municipality recorded the highest turnout at 84.36%, with 19,298 of its 22,876 voters exercising their franchise. Kanigiri in Markapuram district followed with 83.86%, although polling there was held in only two wards.
Gudur in Kurnool district recorded a turnout of 83.73%, followed by Penukonda in Sri Sathya Sai district at 80.58% and Nandikotkur in Nandyal district at 80.35%.
Among the municipal corporations, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) recorded a turnout of 56.32%, with 10,35,154 votes cast out of 18,37,901 voters. Guntur registered 56.15%, while Vijayawada recorded 55.37%. (with inputs from media organisations)