Jason Beaubien, NPR /
Later this month, the Democratic Republic of Congo is scheduled to hold its first free elections in almost half a century -- the troubled central African nation hasn't had free democratic polls since 1960.
With international donors spending more than $400 million on the polls, the elections are the most expensive elections ever held in Africa. But backers say it's worth the hope that a representative government can lead Congo out of years of turmoil.
If none of the 33 presidential candidates gets 50 percent of the vote on July 30, there will be a runoff.
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