Himachal panchayat elections: More than 19% polling has been recorded till 9 am in the final phase

People wait in a queue to cast their votes during the Himachal Pradesh Panchayat polls in Shimla. File. | Photo credit: ANI

Amid rain and stormy weather in several parts of Himachal Pradesh, a voter turnout of 19.26% was recorded in the first two hours till 9:00 am in the third and final phase of panchayat elections on Saturday (May 30, 2026).

The elections started at 7 am. Sirmaur constituency had the highest voter turnout of 23.60%, while Lahaul and Spiti recorded the lowest 16.23%. No unusual incident has been reported so far.

More than 15 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 1,189 gram panchayats.

Elections are held through ballots and not party symbols. Voting will continue until 3:00 p.m

A voter turnout of 78.90% across 1,293 panchayats was recorded in the first phase held on May 26, while 79.88% voters cast their votes in 1,276 panchayats during the second phase on May 28.

A total of 10,854 office bearers have already been elected without opposition.

According to State Election Department officials, results for gram panchayats, pradhans and up-pradhans will be declared on Saturday (May 30, 2026), while results for panchayat samiti and zila members will be declared on May 31.

The ballots are colour-coded: white for ward members, yellow for up-pradhans, green for pradhans, pink for panchayat samiti members and blue for zila parishioners.

A total of about 50.89 lakh voters will elect 31,182 representatives in the three-phase elections, including 3,754 pradhans, 3,754 up-pradhans, 21,654 ward members, 1,769 panchayat samiti members and 251 zila ward members.

The Shimla Met office has predicted a rainy season in the state till June 4.

Published – 30 May 2026 09:36 IST