3rd round of polls pass off peacefully in Kashmir

Separatist politicians and rebel groups have called on voters to shun the elections, the first in more than a quarter century, saying the polls are no substitute for the right to self-determination.

On Sunday two districts in southern Kashmir, Anantnag and Pulwama, voted to elect municipal councilors.

Both districts are strongholds of militants opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir. They want to join Kashmir with Pakistan or make it independent.

"The voting has ended and there has not been a single incidence of violence," an election official in the state summer capital Srinagar told AFP.

He said the turnout was more than 40 percent according to preliminary figures at the end of the six hours of voting.

Voting picked up in the afternoon after a slow start.