Kigali - Large crowds of opposition supporters celebrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday after the Senate scrapped a draft law that would allow President Joseph Kabila to extend his stay in power.
Hundreds danced in the streets of the capital Kinshasa, shouting “Victory!” after the Senate also dropped plans for a national census before the 2016 presidential elections.
“We don't want dictators in our country, and Kabila must go,” student Anitah Matata told dpa in the eastern town of Goma.
A draft of the electoral law was approved by the lower house on Saturday. Opposition parties said it intended to keep Kabila in power for years by delaying elections until a national census could be conducted.
Forty-two people died in protests against the draft law this week, according to the non-profit International Federation of Human Rights.
The United States, France and the United Nations called on Kabila's government to exercise restraint in handling the protests.
Opposition parties, which demand that Kabila step down when his mandate expires in 2016, called for mass demonstrations against the new legislation, which is currently being debated in the Senate.
The latest upheaval comes after years of unrest in the central African country, which has been plagued by multiple wars and ineffectual governance under Kabila.
Sapa-dpa