A deal has been signed to end Joseph Kabila’s 15-year rule in the Democratic Republic of Congo – but the president himself has yet to add his signature.
Senior ministers backed the deal, which would see Mr Kabila stay on until elections are held by the end of 2017.
The country has faced a crisis since Mr Kabila failed to step down earlier in December, when his mandate expired.
Elections should have been held in November, and dozens of people have died in protests since then.
After the electoral commission cancelled the scheduled vote, citing logistical and financial difficulties in organising them, Mr Kabila formed a 74-member transitional government and said elections would be held in 2018.
Representatives of Mr Kabila and his long standing rival Etienne Tshisekedi have been locked in negotiations brokered by Catholic Church leaders since 8 December.