Srinagar: Election Commission on September 18 said polling percentage in the first phase of elections in Jammu and Kashmir had improved by over three per cent following reports from remote areas of the five border districts which went to polls on September 16.

"The polling percentage in most of the improved significantly following reports pouring in from far flung areas," Deputy Chief Electoral Officer B S Jamwal told reporters.

The latest figures for the first phase of polling went up to 47.97 per cent with Kargil registering a nine-point increase from the 67 per cent announced by Chief Electoral Officer Pramod Jain at the end of the polling on September 16.

Polling figures in the two border districts of Kupwara and Baramulla went up with the former taking a big leap from 40 per cent announced on September 16 to around 55 per cent on September 18.

According to the latest figures provided by the EC, Zanska segment in Kargil district had the largest voter turnout of 78.74 per cent followed by Gurez (76.70 per cent) and Kargil segment (74.89 per cent).

Sopore segment, stronghold of detained Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, had the lowest voter turnout of 7.83 per cent, though the initial reports had put the figures at five per cent. Sopore was followed by Baramulla (24.06), Sangrama (24.75) and Rajouri (27.16) on the lower end of the voter turnout.

Asked about the variations in the poll percentage issued by the Election Commission in Delhi and Srinagar, Jamwal said, "I do not know. I am giving the ground facts that we collected."

PTI