Polling for the first phase of the rural local body elections in Coonoor and Kotagiri panchayat unions witnessed 65.86 % of registered voters turning out to vote on Friday.
Officials said that 67.03 % of registered male voters and 64.78 % of registered female voters turned out to exercise their franchise.
A protest broke out in Bandisolai in Coonoor, after more than 40 people who came to cast their vote to elect their ward councillors complained of not finding their names on the ballot sheet.
Officials said that polling booth number 22 and 23, where around 1,100 people have been registered as voters, did not have the names of a percentage of local residents.
The residents staged a protest outside the polling booth till the election tahsildar arrived and held talks. They eventually dispersed though most of them could not cast their votes.
Across the Nilgiris, votes will be cast to elect six district panchayat ward members, 59 panchayat union ward members, 35 village panchayat presidents and 393 panchayat ward members across 458 wards. Polling for Gudalur and Udhagamandalam panchayat unions will be held on Monday. Security was stepped up across the Nilgiris due to the elections, with more than 1,000 police personnel being stationed near polling stations and major public spaces.
In remote locations where the polling booths could only be accessed by tribal residents by walking through forests, the Forest Department had stationed personnel to ensure no untoward incidents occurred.
