The Georgian Parliament overrides the presidential veto on the “Foreign Agents Bill” | Politics news

Critics say the bill will restrict media freedom and hamper Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.

Georgia’s parliament has overridden a presidential veto of “foreign agents” legislation that has stoked Western fears and led to weeks of street protests.

The legislature, controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday rejected President Salome Zurabishvili’s veto of legislation that she and other critics said would restrict media freedom and hinder Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.

The president now has five days to approve the bill. If you don’t, the Speaker of Parliament will be able to sign it into law.

The bill, approved by Parliament earlier this month, requires media outlets, NGOs and other non-profit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

Zurabishvili, increasingly at odds with the ruling party, vetoed the bill on May 18. She accused the ruling party of endangering the country’s future and “obstructing the path towards becoming a full member of the free and democratic world.”

The veto was rejected by 84 votes to 4 in a contentious parliamentary session, during which a Georgian Dream MP doused an opposition party leader with water as he spoke from the podium.

The government says the bill is necessary to stop what it sees as harmful foreign actors trying to destabilize the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million, but many Georgian journalists and activists say the bill’s real goal is to stigmatize them and restrict debate during the race. – Until the parliamentary elections scheduled for October.

Opponents denounce this legislation as “Russian law” because it resembles measures taken by the Kremlin to suppress independent news media, non-profit organizations and activists. Critics said this measure may have been motivated by Moscow to thwart Georgia’s chances of further integration with the West.

The bill is almost identical to one that the ruling party was pressured to withdraw last year after street protests. Demonstrations were renewed again in Georgia with the draft law reaching Parliament. The demonstrators clashed with the police, who used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.

The European Union, which granted Georgia candidate status in December, has repeatedly said the draft law would be an obstacle to further integration between Tbilisi and the EU. The European bloc stressed at the time that Tbilisi needed to implement key policy recommendations in order to make progress in its bid for membership.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that travel sanctions would be imposed on Georgian officials “responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia.” He noted, “It remains our hope that Georgia’s leaders will reconsider the draft law and take the necessary steps to advance the realization of their country’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”

The opposition United National Movement described the bill as part of Georgian Dream’s efforts to draw the country into Russia’s sphere of influence – claiming it vehemently denied that Georgian Dream was founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and billionaire who made his fortune in Russia.

Demonstrations against the bill have been taking place for weeks, peaking in the evening, when crowds numbering in the tens of thousands staged some of the largest protests Georgia has seen since it regained independence from Moscow in 1991.