Georgian Parliament Annuls Veto on Foreign Agents Law
May 28, 2024 Hour: 3:49 pm
The Parliament of Georgia annulled on Tuesday the presidential veto on the law on foreign agents, rejected by the opposition and amid threats of reprisals by the European Union and the United States.
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A total of 84 deputies of the 104 presents voted in favor of the regulation and against the veto imposed on 18 May by the Georgian president, Salomé Zurabishvili.
The Georgian Parliament passed the law on 14 May, but President Salomé Zurabishvili vetoed the rule four days later.
However, it was taken for granted that the Georgian Parliament would reject the presidential veto, as 76 of the 150 deputies in the chamber were needed and the ruling Georgian Dream party had 84 seats.
The response letter to the speakers of the Parliaments of the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Netherlands, Estonia, France, Latvia, and Poland
Dear Colleagues,
I am thankful for your letter on the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence. I am glad to provide you with more details… pic.twitter.com/LT1C9iC4Ek
— Shalva Papuashvili ���� (@shpapuashvili)
May 28, 2024
If, after the vote, the president refuses to sign the law within five days, the head of Parliament may do so, in accordance with current regulations.
When the regulation comes into force, non-governmental organisations and media with more than 20% foreign funding will have to submit public financial statements once a year.
According to the authorities, 80 percent of the money that funds media and NGOs in Georgia is not very transparent and can be used for destabilization actions in view of the parliamentary elections of 26 October.
The president of the Georgian parliament pointed out that “for Georgian non-profit organizations (NPOs) to participate in decision-making at all levels and have influence over public life, they must provide a basic standard of transparency”.
“People need to know who supports each actor. This is true for state institutions, this is true for political parties, this is true for public officials and this must also be true for non-profit organizations. Financial transparency for all these key players in the decision-making circle is a basic principle,” he said.
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Autor: teleSUR/ CC
Fuente: efe-rt