Polling for the fifth phase of District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir was held on Thursday.
The polling for 37 DDC seats — 17 in Kashmir and 20 in Jammu division — began at 7 am.
Voting was also held for 58 vacant sarpanch and 218 vacant panch seats.
There are a total of 299 candidates in the electoral fray.
The first phase of DDC elections was held on November 28 and saw a voter turnout of 51.76 per cent. The second phase which was held on December 1, saw a voter turnout of 48.62 per cent, the third phase of DDC elections which was held on December 4, witnessed a voter turnout of 50.53 per cent, whereas the fourth phase was held on December 7 and saw voter turnout over 50 per cent.
The DDC elections are being held in eight phases, with the last phase going to poll on December 19. The counting of votes will take place on December 22.
