As anticipated, the speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has signed the foreign agent law. The president vetoed the bill, citing inconsistencies with democratic values.
It is to be specifically mentioned that initially the Parliament adopted the bill in the third and final reading amid a wide-scale protest. The bill was sent to the President for assent but she used her veto power. Later the bill was again sent to Parliament for reconsideration where it was passed again by the majority.
However the president who was adamant not to give assent again refused the approval. Georgia law authorizes the speaker to sign the bill in case of the president’s refusal. The speaker today using these special powers signed the bill and now it has been enacted as law.
According to the latest information available so far the newly enacted law will be published tomorrow. However the key provisions will not take effect until 60 days have passed; they will take effect after these 60 days.
As per the key controversial provision, the local CSOs(civil society organizations) and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from other countries will have to register. They must be registered as “organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”
On the other hand more than one hundred Georgian CSOs have already vowed not to register in this “defamatory” registry. It should be noted that despite unprecedented domestic and international pressure on the ruling Georgian Dream government not to pass the law, it has been enacted.
The Georgian Dream has a majority in the parliament and due to this the GD pushed and passed it anyway. It was in fact, passed on May 28, when the ruling majority overrode the President’s veto and passed it with 84 votes in favour. The police have also launched a crackdown on the protestors to quell the rebels.
