Georgian Dream, the ruling party, overturned President Salomé Zurabishvili’s veto of the controversial “Foreign Agents Act” into law. The measure will be enforced 60 days from today, with 84 deputies out of the 104 present voting in favor and against the veto imposed on May 18th. The party needed 76 seats to overcome the president’s veto and accused her of treason.
The heated parliamentary debate lasted for almost seven hours while hundreds of opponents waited outside for its outcome. Archil Talakvadze, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP of Georgian Dream, declared that civil society would continue to work peacefully as all professionals who publicly do good for Georgia and serve its interests would be able to carry out their activities without fear of repression.
Opposition leader David Jadzhishvilia compared the founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, to Viktor Yanukovych, who was overthrown in Ukraine in 2014 due to his close ties with Russia. Several hundred people gathered outside Parliament to protest against the law as part of a demonstration called by the opposition. They shouted slogans such as “No to Russian law!” and “Slaves!”.
The European Union has expressed concern about Georgia’s position if the law on foreign agents is definitively approved, with head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell declaring that they will be able to take measures against Georgia in June. The United States has also announced restrictions on visas for those responsible for both the document and recent protests repression. However, authorities have asked Western countries to objectively evaluate Georgia’s position and reminded them that similar laws exist in Western countries.
Under current legislation, non-governmental organizations and media with more than 20% external funding will have to make public declarations once a year if the regulation rejected by Council Europe Venice Commission comes into force. According to authorities, about 80% of money financing media and NGOs in Georgia is not very transparent and can be used for destabilization actions leading up to parliamentary elections on October 26th.
