In Georgia, the parliament passed the bill on “foreign agents” in the first reading, despite protests. This was reported by Mtavari Arkhi TV channel.
According to the TV channel, 83 parliamentarians spoke in support of the bill, 50 people abstained from voting, 0 voted against. Opposition MPs left the hall before the vote after a conflict with other parliamentarians, reported Mtavari Arkhi.
Voting results/Screenshot of Mtavari Arkhi
In an interview with BBC News, Georgian President Salome Zarubashvili said that the bill adopted in the first reading is a copy of “Putin’s law” on “foreign agents” in force in Russia. She also promised that she would veto the amendments, but noted that this veto could be overridden by a majority in parliament.
Georgia Online writes that during the discussion of the bill, the chairman of the parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, a member of the Georgian Party dream”, which holds a majority in parliament, expelled opposition deputies from the hall who called the amendments “Russian law.”
The voting took place against the backdrop of a protest outside the Georgian parliament building. Opponents of the bill have been rallying in the center of Tbilisi for the third day; they also announced a protest action this evening at 19:00 Georgian time.
The Tbilisi life Telegram channel writes that after information appeared about the adoption of the amendments in the first reading, co-founder of the opposition party Akhali Nika Gvaramia read out a list of 83 deputies who supported the bill. After each name, the protesters chanted “Russian” and “slave.”
The bill on “foreign agents” is being considered in Georgia for the second time. The amendments were first introduced to parliament at the beginning of 2023, but in March of the same year the amendments were rejected in the second reading amid mass protests. Then, at rallies against the initiative, Georgian security forces used water cannons and tear gas against the protesters.
As Mtavari Arkhi reports, after the protests, one of the leaders of Georgian Dream, politician Irakli Kobakhidze, said that the bill on “foreign agents” was no longer included in the party’s plans, but later amendments were again introduced into parliament.
In the updated version, the bill has undergone minor changes — in it the term “agent of foreign influence” was replaced with “an organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power”, but otherwise remained the same.
As the Rustavi 2 TV channel writes, according to the amendments, NGOs and media outlets that receive at least 20% of their annual income from abroad can be considered “foreign agents.” If an organization meets this criterion, it must be registered as an “agent of foreign influence” in a government registry. The absence of such registration implies a fine of 25 thousand lari.