Georgian parliament passes foreign agent bill at 1st reading
The Georgian parliament passed the bill On the Transparency of Foreign Influence at its first reading on Wednesday; opposition MPs took no part in the vote.
Bill rapporteur, parliament majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze said at the meeting that he could not understand why the opposition had been protesting, as the bill's only goal was to clarify how non-governmental organizations spent multimillion foreign grants.
"Georgia is our priority, while Europe and other countries come next," Mdinaradze said. He called criticism of the bill by European and U.S. officials unfounded.
The meeting was interrupted by the actions of opposition MPs who tried to disrupt the speeches of their colleagues from the ruling Georgian Dream party with shouts and knocking. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili asked parliamentary bailiffs to remove several opposition members from the room, after which almost all opposition MPs left in protest.
The opposition protested outside parliament during the vote. Another demonstration will take place on parliament square on Wednesday evening, as it has on the preceding nights.