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Georgia's parliament set to challenge presidential veto on foreign agents law

Overriding a presidential veto requires the approval of at least 76 of the 150 members of the unicameral parliament

TBILISI, May 24. /TASS/. The Georgian parliament will begin the procedure to override President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto on the foreign agents law on May 27, the parliament's website said.

The Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs is scheduled to meet at 9:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on May 27 to deliberate on the president’s veto of the foreign agents law. If the committee agrees to override the veto, the issue will be considered at the plenary session on May 28.

Overriding a presidential veto requires the approval of at least 76 of the 150 members of the unicameral parliament. The ruling party, Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia, has 84 seats. After the veto is overridden, the bill returns to the president for signing. If Zourabichvili again refuses to sign the document, it will be signed and published by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili. After publication, the law will come into effect.

On May 14, the Georgian parliament passed the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" in the third reading, which led the European Union to threaten suspending the country's integration into the organization. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien said that the US would impose sanctions on the Georgian government if democracy was undermined in the country.

Consideration of the bill began in April. Since then, large protests have taken place in Georgia. Several times they have escalated into clashes with security forces, with pepper spray and water cannons used to disperse protesters. The law is also opposed by the UN, NATO, the OSCE and the Council of Europe. Western leaders say the law contradicts European values. Georgia's ruling party argues that it is only meant to ensure transparency in foreign funding of the non-governmental sector and the media.