Congo's elections 'sign of hope' for Africa

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon called Congo’s first elections in 46 years a sign of hope for the rest of war-torn Africa, praising the country’s fragile democracy in his first official tour of the continent.

“I chose to come here to send a symbolic message to people of the world that it is possible to see a rebirth of hope,” Ban said.

Congo has known little but dictatorship and war since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

A peace deal signed by Joseph Kabila’s government allowed the country to hold elections last year for the first time in four decades.