Ruling party Executive Secretary dismisses claims only 1% of entities registering as organisations “pursuing interests of foreign power”

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday dismissed claims that said only one percent of organisations in the country had voluntarily applied for registration as groups “pursuing interests of foreign power” at the National Agency of Public Registry of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

Mdinaradze’s comments followed the deadline for registration of non-governmental organisations and media outlets in accordance with the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence on Monday.

The party official said the claims by parties leading lawsuits against the law were “biggest and blatant lies”.

There are not 30,000 NGOs in Georgia - the number is only on papers. Actually, there are only several thousands of active NGOs, and a much smaller part of them [...] are ones that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad”, he said.

Once we determine the precise number of NGOs in Georgia that are actually operating and how many of them receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, then we will be able to determine the following percentages. As many times as they say [the figure is only] one percent, they will make themselves clear that they are liars”, he alleged.

Mdinaradze also claimed organisations failing to register under the law “have the goal of non-transparency”, and an “objective of hiding money against the country”. He alleged they had “held this aim when they fought with all kinds of morally wrong methods against Georgia and the transparency law”, in reference to public protests against the legislative piece.

Tamar Tkeshelashvili, the First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia, on Monday told Imedi TV 469 organisations had voluntarily applied for registration under the law.