Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze outlined the ruling Georgian Dream’s plan to ban all the country’s major pro-Western political parties should his party win the October 2024 parliamentary elections. In a speech on 23 August, Kobakhidze expanded on what had previously been a vague Georgian Dream election promise to “ban” the primary political opposition, the United National Movement, and specified that all members of “pro-Western” factions would be banned from taking office as “in reality, all these are one political force.” A spokesperson for the European Commission said the move was “concerning”.

Sources: OC Media, Civil.ge, National Agency of Public Registry, Politico

The “On Protection of Family Values and Minors” bill and related amendments unanimously passed the first reading in parliament on 27 June, even as opposition MPs continued to boycott parliament following the contentious passage of the ‘Foreign Agents’ law in May 2024. The package of laws would outlaw vaguely-defined “LGBT propaganda” in public, schools and mass media, as well as prevent LGBTQIA+ people from adopting children and ban both gender-affirming medical care and legal gender transitions. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe found the bill did not comply with Georgia’s international human rights and legal commitments and urged the government to “reconsider this legislative proposal entirely and to not proceed with its adoption.” Despite boycotting parliament, opposition parties have not condemned the bill, with a United National Movement MP calling it “a distraction” and For Georgia MP Mikheil Daushvili saying “we oppose propaganda directed at children, especially LGBT propaganda.”

Sources: OC Media, Civil.ge, Council of Europe, International IDEA

In the face of major street protests in Tbilisi and international criticism, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party returned the ‘foreign agents’ bill to parliament in late April and passed it on the third reading on 14 May. The law requires any civic organisations that receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register as ‘organisations carrying the interests of a foreign power’ and includes significant fines for noncompliance. Protesters and opposition groups argued the law is designed to undermine Georgia’s EU accession and move it into Russia’s sphere of influence, while the government insists it is necessary to protect Georgia’s political sovereignty. The European Commission has said it previously informed GD officials that passing the bill would result in a suspension of Georgia’s EU accession processes. The bill was previously introduced and removed in March 2023 after similar protests and significant Western criticism. Over 100 protesters have been arrested, reports of police brutality have been common, and critics of the government have been attacked by unknown assailants outside their homes. Georgian Dream has a sufficient majority to override President Salome Zourabichvili’s planned veto and has stated it intends to do so.    

Sources: Eurasianet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, OC Media, International IDEA, Financial Times 

Georgia’s parliament introduced and adopted a new tax law through a fast-track procedure in April, which exempts assets currently held outside of Georgia from many taxes or duties if they are repatriated before 1 January 2028. Parliament considered and passed the amendments in eight days while significant street protests were being held outside the parliament building against the ‘foreign agents’ legislation. Analysts and opposition politicians argue the law is intended to allow the oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s wealthiest man and the leader and financier of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, to move his assets into Georgia in order to evade future possible financial sanctions from the United States or European Union. A close associate of Ivanishvili, Otar Partskhaladze, was sanctioned by the United States in September 2023, and the spectre of sanctions has complicated Ivanishvilis’s ability to collect damages in his long-running legal feud with Credit Suisse. 

Sources: OC Media, Civil.ge, Blackstone Chambers, Jam News 

Georgia’s ruling party introduced constitutional amendments on 25 March that would significantly curtail LGBTQIA+ rights by banning sex changes, adoption by same-sex couples and banning any gathering that might “popularise same-sex family or intimate relations.” The draft amendments have been condemned by local civil society organizations and political opposition, both on the grounds that they are homophobic and discriminatory and as damaging to Georgia’s goal of joining the European Union. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in the capital Tbilisi, referring to the amendments as the “Russian law” after the largely similar legislation passed in Russia in 2012. Georgian Dream has tried to pass similar legislation before without success, and the proposed amendments need to be passed by both this and the next parliament in order to take effect.

Sources: OC Media, Reuters, Civil.ge

Parliament voted to override a presidential veto and change Georgia’s electoral code on 19 March, transferring the authority to nominate candidates for the Chairman and members of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) from the president to the speaker of the parliament and lowering the threshold for parliamentary approval. The amendments also abolish the position of Deputy Chairman, which was the formal representative of the parliamentary opposition in the CEC. Opposition political parties and domestic CSOs argued the amendments damage the CEC’s neutrality, are contrary to the conditions of its European Union membership application and contradict recommendations from the Venice Commission. The ruling Georgian Dream party argued the changes were necessary to prevent the opposition from “sabotaging” the CEC before this year’s elections.

Sources: Civil.ge (1), Civil.ge (2), Civil.ge (3), 1TV