Tamar Tkeshelashvili, the First Deputy Minister of Justice announced that as of September 2, a total of 469 non-commercial legal entities have voluntarily registered in the Foreign Influence Registry under a new law, which obliges local NGOs and media organizations to register as pursuants of foreign influence if they receive more than 20 percent of their incomes from abroad.
The registration period ended at 6:00 PM local time, but the final numbers will be confirmed later.
Tkeshelashvili noted in addition to official 469 applications by 18:09, there were still queues at the Justice House, suggesting that the final count might increase. She noted that the Ministry of Justice would announce the official numbers by the end of the day.
The Deputy Justice Minister also addressed the rumors that only 1% of eligible organizations in the country had registered. She pointed out that 233 of approximately 30,000 registered NGOs had submitted applications by August 30, representing 0.77%. Tkeshelashvili added that around 1,200 out of total 30,000 are state-founded, meaning they are not required to register.
“One thing is submitting an application, and another is the responsibility of the National Agency of Public Registry to verify whether the information provided in the application or declaration is accurate. They still have time to approach us tomorrow, the day after, and even later, but this will no longer be a voluntary submission— a different regime will apply to these organizations,” she stressed, adding that
The Deputy Minister also mentioned that only 122 organizations have filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court, challenging specific provisions of the Law on Foreign Influence as unconstitutional.
“Less than 1% [122 organizations] refuse to comply with the legal requirement. Let’s stop the manipulation on this matter,” she stated.
Georgia’s foreign allies condemned the so-called Foreign Agents’ Law as an impediment to the country’s EU integration process and halted or postponed several aid packages. Failure to register voluntarily will result in the government registering the organizations against their will, along with fines of up to 25,000 GEL.
