Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Saturday vetoed a “foreign influence” law which has sparked mass protests in the .
Zourabichvili: Foreign agent law ‘contradicts our constitution’
“Today I set a veto… on the law, which is Russian in its essence, and which contradicts our constitution,” Zourabichvili said in a televised address.
Zourabichvili had earlier told DW in an exclusive interview that , as she believes the legislation is hurting Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU.
The veto can be overriden by another vote in Parliament. The bill is backed by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and his Georgian Dream party, which have majority control in the Parliament.
The legislation obliges nonprofits and media organizations to register as “agents of foreign influence” if over 20% of their financing comes from abroad. Under the legislation, the organizations would also be closely watched by the Georgian Ministry of Justice.
If the organizations fail to register, they could face severe financial penalties.
The bill has drawn backlash from civil society groups, who believe it would be impossible to survive without foreign funding. The legislation has sparked mass demonstrations against it for over a month in Georgia, which protesters also concerned that Georgia’s EU hopes would be quashed by the bill.
PM Kobakhidze, however, believes the bill will increase transparency and combat foreign influence in Georgian society.
wd/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)
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