ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: The Election Commission took more than a week to announce on Friday that the nationwide voter turnout in the first phase of the local polls was 46.9 per cent.

Secretary Election Commission Kanwar Dilshad told Dawn that the voter turnout in Punjab was at 53.88 per cent, Sindh 36.6 per cent, NWFP 41.93 per cent and Balochistan 46.97 per cent. The first phase was held in 53 districts of the country on Aug 18, 2005.

Meanwhile, Punjab Election Commissioner Rahim Nawaz Khan Durrani on Friday submitted a report to the commission on the law and order situation in 18 districts of the province during the second phase of the local government elections in which 29 people were killed in different parts of the country.

According to the report, 15 persons were killed in Punjab, including six in Lahore, two in Sheikhupura, one each in Okara, Hafizabad and Jhelum and two each in Jhang and Narowal.

Police in Punjab seized 66 weapons during preventive measures and vigilance and arrested 56 persons for different reasons.

As many as 113,230 security personnel were deployed in the 19,736 polling stations of the 18 districts.