Parliament Vice Speaker says Gov’t, public have “incorporated European choice in constitution” in response to President’s call for referendum

Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze on Wednesday commented on President Salome Zourabichvili’s call for a “referendum on the nation’s future” on Tuesday by saying the “Government and the people” had “already incorporated the country's European and Euro-Atlantic choice” in the constitution.

Talakvadze’s comments came after Zourabichvili on Tuesday issued a call for the referendum in response to the Parliament’s decision to override her veto on the controversial law on transparency of foreign influence.

Salome Zourabishvili's initiative regarding the referendum means the following - she tells the international community that [she] needs to reassess whether the Georgian people are in favour of Europe and are moving towards Europe, or in favour of Russia and moving towards Russia”, Talakvadze alleged.

“The Government and people of Georgia have already written in the constitution that the choice of our country is European and Euro-Atlantic”, he added.

The lawmaker said there was “no ambiguity among the majority of Georgians” regarding their preference for European integration.

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday called Zourabichvili’s call “not serious” and “speculation”.

The call from the President came after the Parliament overrode the veto placed by the President on the law with 84 votes against four, on the backdrop of ongoing public protests.

The legislative body adopted the original version of the law, which requires 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.