A total of 78.6 per cent of 56.53 lakh voters have exercised their franchise in the third phase of Odisha panchayat polls, an SEC official said on Monday.
Sporadic violence was reported in the third phase of the rural polls on Sunday.
Subarnapur district recorded the highest voters' turnout at 87.44 per cent, followed by Nabarangpur (86.33 per cent) and Koraput (84.78 per cent). Ganjam recorded the lowest turnout at 66.75 per cent.
The voters' turnout in the first and second phases held on Febuary 16 and February 18 was 77.2 per cent and 78.3 per cent respectively, the official said.
The SEC said that preparations are in the final stages for conducting the fourth phase of the rural polls on February 22. More than 51.31 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
Voting will take place in 17,089 booths in 1,254 panchayats for 163 Zilla Parishad zones in 163 blocks.
SEC secretary R N Sahu said that the polling in Dhenkanal and Angul districts will be completed with the fourth phase of the election. Special arrangements have been made in Maoist-affected Narayanpatna block of Koraput district.
