Turnout high in Kashmir polls despite protests

As in the first round, enthusiastic voters waited in long lines to cast their ballots in many areas.

"I'm exercising my right and we need to have our own government that will address our issues," said first-time voter Owais Ahmed Mir, 20.

Turnout was about 65 percent of eligible voters in the six districts where balloting took place, government official Masood Samoon said.

But it varied from district to district. In some Muslim-dominated areas, turnout was so low that paramilitary soldiers and police outnumbered voters.

Separatists say the elections will only entrench New Delhi's hold on the restive region. More than 30 leaders who called for an election boycott have been detained in recent days under a law that allows police to hold people for up to two years without trial.

"India is holding these elections under occupation, curfews, detentions and crackdowns," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has been under house arrest for 10 days. "Whatever the turnout, no election under these conditions can be a legitimate exercise."

In Kurhama, a village 19 miles (30 kilometers) north of Srinagar, the region's main city, hundreds of angry protesters threw rocks at a polling station and clashed with government soldiers.

Police and paramilitary soldiers swung batons to drive away the protesters, a police official said. The violence temporarily halted voting at the polling booth, he said on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.

Anti-election protests were also reported in four other villages, the police official said. There were no reports of injuries.