Georgian Parliament will “fulfil people’s will tomorrow and day after” - PM on adopting transparency bill

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday said the country’s Parliament would implement “the will of Georgian society tomorrow and the day after” by adopting the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence in its third reading.

At a press briefing held in the Government Administration, Kobakhidze noted the Legal Issues Committee’s hearing on the bill was scheduled for Monday and the draft law, which calls for the 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, would be adopted by the Parliament in its third reading on Tuesday.

I would like to point out that Georgia is a parliamentary democracy and in our country, decisions are made in line with the interests of the majority of the people and not according to the demands of the political minority”, the PM stressed, adding the legislative body would ensure the disclosure of income and expenses of non-governmental organisations and relevant media and create “more solid guarantees to ensure long-term peace, tranquillity and stability” in Georgia.

He claimed “sociological studies” showed that “more than 80 percent” of Georgian society supported the transparency of NGOs and “more than 60 percent” supported the proposed bill.

The PM emphasised Georgia  “can not permanently live in the closed circle of polarisation” and stressed that “overcoming the artificially created polarisation”, as well as “ending radicalism”, was the responsibility of the Government to the Georgian people, “who have already given us [the ruling Georgian Dream party] the mandate to govern the country eight times, and will give us the ninth [mandate] in [the upcoming Parliamentary elections] in October”.