Power Play in Tbilisi: Georgia’s Ruling Party Targets the President

This was stated by Parliament Speaker Shalva Babuashvili, who promised to submit the new request to the Constitutional Court before the parliamentary elections, and continued: “Our Constitution is the basic law in which the will of the Georgian people is particularly reflected. Therefore, its deliberate, frank and blatant violation cannot remain unanswered. On this basis, the parliamentary majority decided to restart the impeachment procedures and prepare a new constitutional memorandum that will be submitted to the Constitutional Court before the parliamentary elections.”

Last June, the Georgian Parliament approved the draft “Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence” law, or what is conventionally called the controversial “foreign agents” law, which was adopted by overriding President Salome Zurabishvili’s veto, while its opponents point out that it is “anti-democratic.” In light of Brussels and Washington’s threats that the move “will derail Georgia’s efforts to join the European Union,” and “will cause a ban on visas to enter the United States and the imposition of sanctions on some figures.”

The law forces NGOs and media platforms that receive 20% or more of their funding from external sources to register themselves as “organizations seeking to achieve the interests of an external power.”

The project sparked protests from the opposition, while the ruling party affirms its commitment to Georgia’s aspirations and says that the law will ensure “transparency” regarding Western-funded groups that undermine the country’s sovereignty.

Source: Novosti