Georgians continue to protest government's 'Transparency of foreign influence' draft bill

TBILISI, Georgia

Demonstrations against a "Transparency of foreign influence" bill continued Friday in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Demonstrators gathered in front of parliament reiterated their opposition to the bill.

Protesters then marched toward the central office of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Carrying flags of Georgia and the EU, demonstrators chanted slogans against the bill and the government.

Arriving in front of the office where extensive security measures were taken with a large number of police officers, protesters demanded the release of those detained during recent protests.

The protesters announced that they would continue to gather every day unless the government withdrew the bill reintroduced to parliament this year.

'Transparency of foreign influence' bill

The parliament of the South Caucasus country voted Wednesday in support of the second reading of a controversial “foreign agents” bill, despite weeks-long protests against a draft legislation sweeping the capital.

The bill requires organizations, including media outlets, which receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register with the state. It also obliges them to publish annual financial reports.

The bill, first introduced in March 2023, was shelved after it triggered mass protests resulting in the arrest of 66 people and the injury of more than 50 law enforcement officers.

Last month, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the parliamentary leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said the party would resubmit the draft legislation on the bill to parliament.

Critics have said the bill would undermine democracy and labeled it as a "Russian law," but members of the ruling majority contend it would boost transparency.

President Salome Zourabichvili also declared that she would veto the bill.

Georgian Dream can override the president's veto, however, by collecting 76 votes, after which the parliament speaker can sign the bill into law.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul