President Salome Zourabichvili of Georgia said on Saturday that she had vetoed a bill on foreign influence that has sparked protests and plunged the nation into a political crisis, threatening to derail its pro-European aspirations in favor of closer ties with Russia.
Georgia’s Parliament, which passed the draft law in three readings, is widely expected to override the veto.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, which introduced the proposed legislation, can turn it into law as early as May 28, when the Parliament will be in session again.
Mrs. Zourabichvili called her veto “symbolic,” but it still represented another step in the political conflict between the country’s pro-Western opposition, which Mrs. Zourabichvili supports, and the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012.
The crisis has highlighted the highly polarized nature of Georgia’s political life.
Persons:
Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili
Locations:
Georgia, Russia, Georgia’s, Georgian