Congo deal reached for Kabila to step down after 2017 elections

By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congolese President Joseph Kabila will step down after elections to be held by the end of 2017 under a last-minute deal struck by political parties on Friday, the lead mediator of the talks said. Negotiators spent weeks in tense talks seeking to ensure Democratic Republic of Congo’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence in 1960. "The government is asked to take all steps so that the elections are organized by the end of 2017 at the latest,"