Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 12 -- The second phase of the local body elections in Kerala on Thursday saw a higher voter turnout compared to the first phase with over 75% of registered electors exercising their franchise.

Officials of the State Election Commission (SEC), which conducted the polls, put the provisional turnout figure at 75.38% at the closing of voting at 6 pm. The final turnout is expected to be released only by Friday.

In the first phase of the polls on Tuesday, just over 70% of the voters had cast their votes in the southern and central districts of the state.

Polling was conducted in Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Kasaragod districts. A total of 604 local bodies including 470 grama panchaya...