Georgian PM claims “fusion” between NGOs, parties shows “necessity” of transparency law

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday claimed a “fusion” of domestic non-governmental organisations and political parties was “once again indicating” a “necessity” for the recently adopted law on transparency of foreign influence.

Kobakhidze said the alleged ties between NGOs and parties demonstrated that “dark, hidden money” was circulating in Georgian politics.

The funding of politics in Georgia should be transparent - especially when it is carried out through NGOs, this too should be transparent, of course. Such fusion between NGOs and parties once again indicates that there is dark, hidden money in Georgian politics, which must be made public to the Georgian society”, he said.

The PM also commented on President Salome Zourabichvili’s address to the Constitutional Court to suspend and then repeal the controversial law, introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party and approved by the Parliament earlier this year.

“I think that this lawsuit will have no prospects. It is impossible to argue that transparency is bad [or] legally wrong”, he noted.

The law requires groups “considered to be an organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power” - determined by more than 20 percent of their funding coming from abroad - to be registered in the public registry with the status and publicise their received funding.