For the Vice President of the contested office, Jean-Paul Elekola, the governor and those accompanying him had no official document authorizing them to break down the doors of the Provincial Assembly. Jean-Paul Elekola stated that 14 deputies had left the building.
“Given that they don't have an official document, the Attorney General at the Court of Appeal of Mbandaka has withdrawn. He asked them if they had a document coming from the Deputy Prime Minister of the Interior. Show me such a document, and I will give you the order to break in. And when the governor saw that the prosecutor did not want to authorize him, he went to break in himself. The city was paralyzed, real bullet shots were heard everywhere, and tear gas was deployed, so the population was in disarray. We, the group of 14 deputies, left the precincts of the Provincial Assembly because we cannot condone foolishness, we cannot condone the irregularities happening in the Équateur province. Why does he want to install these 7 deputies? Because in the composition of the definitive office, he lost,” lamented Jean-Paul Elekola.
And on the side of the provincial government, it is claimed that conflicts between the two groups of deputies should not paralyze the province.
MMC
DRC: High tension in the Equateur provincial assembly after the elections
InternetKinshasaPolitics - High tension was observed on Friday, May 3, 2024 at the headquarters of the Equator Provincial Assembly. Gunshots were heard in the late morning of that day. The deputies of the "Save the Equator" group accuse the outgoing governor of having broken down the doors to allow the group of deputies who claim to be the majority to access the building.