KINSHASA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s first democratic general elections in more than four decades ended peacefully on Sunday afternoon, dispelling previous concerns of violence during the voting process.

Backgrounder

¡¤Key events in DR Congo peaceful process

¡¤Main candidates in DRC's presidential election

¡¤Key facts about the Democratic Republic of Congo

    The overall situation remained calm, and the polls were held orderly and peacefully with only sporadic violence reported throughout the country, according to sources with the election authority.

    The average turnout was estimated to be around 60 percent, with some places as high as over 90 percent, noted the sources.

    In the eastern part of Kinshasa, where opposition enjoys mass support, the situation also remained calm and there was no violence reported, according to a military observer with the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC.

    The voting process officially started from 6:00 a.m. (0700 GMT)on Sunday. Voters queued outside polling stations to make choices among 33 presidential candidates. At the same time, voters cast ballot to choose 500 parliamentarians for the National Assembly from more than 9,700 candidates.

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