Parliament’s plenary session resumes hearing of bill on transparency of foreign influence
The level means that only persons invited by relevant structural units of the institution will be admitted to the plenary session. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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A plenary session of the Georgian Parliament on Wednesday resumed deliberations on the bill on transparency of foreign influence, reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party against public protests, in its second hearing.
The session will review the draft law, which calls for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, “on an article-by-article basis”.
The legislative body on Wednesday announced the introduction of the yellow level of security in the venue, following clashes between protesters and law enforcement outside the venue late on Tuesday.
The level means that only persons invited by relevant structural units of the institution will be admitted to the plenary session.
The Legal Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament on Monday resumed deliberations on the bill on transparency of foreign influence, reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party against public protests, in its second hearing.
The law enforcement officers have used water cannons to disperse demonstrators outside the Parliament in the country’s capital Tbilisi, who are protesting the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament, on Monday said it was “false” to claim that funding of domestic non-governmental organisations was transparent, in comments on the reintroduced bill on the transparency of foreign influence on the backdrop of public protests.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday highlighted the “importance” for the public to “stand together” ahead of a public rally in support of the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence, organised by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the capital city of Tbilisi on Monday.