As she had promised, the Georgian president vetoed the “Russian law” targeting the media and NGOs on Saturday. A law criticized by the opposition, but which could ultimately be adopted by the Georgian Parliament.
As she explained to us in this exclusive interview, Salomé Zourabichvili, the Georgian president, formally vetoed this Saturday the “Russian law” which has been causing trouble for weeks in the country with massive demonstrations.
The law would require media outlets and NGOs to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. Critics of the bill say it closely resembles legislation used by the Kremlin to silence opponents and will obstruct Georgia’s EU bid.
For the current president, increasingly at odds with Georgia’s ruling party, said on Saturday that the law contradicted the Georgian constitution and “all European standards” and added that it “must be abolished.”
The ruling Georgian Dream party, however, has a sufficient majority to override the presidential veto and is widely expected to do so in the coming days.
The Georgian government insists the law aims to promote transparency and curb what it sees as harmful foreign influence in the country of 3.7 million people.