Itanagar, Dec 20: Counting of votes for panchayat and civic elections in Arunachal Pradesh began Saturday at 8 am across 45 centres in 27 districts, under tight security, State Election Commission Secretary Taru Talo said.

Rural panchayat elections recorded nearly 75% voter turnout, while urban areas reported lower participation, with Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) at 51.39% and Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC) at 60.95%. Electronic voting machines were used for civic elections, whereas ballot papers covered rural seats.

Out of 245 zilla parishad member (ZPM) seats, 186 went to counting after 59 candidates were elected unopposed. In gram panchayats, 6,227 candidates won unopposed, and votes were cast for 1,947 others. Polling on December 15 covered 16 IMC wards and eight PMC wards, including four BJP candidates elected unopposed in Itanagar.

Officials reported that polling was peaceful, conducted with strong security and administrative oversight.