Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 10 -- Over 70% of registered voters exercised their franchise on Tuesday in the first phase of the elections to the three-tier rural and urban local bodies in Kerala, officials of the State Election Commission (SEC) said.

The average turnout in the seven districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam, where polling was held on Tuesday, at 7 pm crossed 71%.

Long queues were witnessed at several polling booths, especially in rural areas, even after the official voting deadline ended at 6pm.

The turnout at 7pm in various districts was 67.10% in Thiruvananthapuram, 70% in Kolla, 66.1% in Pathanamthitta, 73.58% in Alappuzha, 70.68% in Kottayam, 71.28% in Idukki and...