During a plenary session, Parliament reviewed in the first reading the draft law on Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia.

According to the proposed amendments, the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will no longer be mandatory in the decision-making processes outlined by Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

The bill was presented by the Chair of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee, David Matikashvili, who stated that the majority of NGOs operating in Georgia were funded by foreign entities and often served the interests of their donors rather than those of the country.

“The most striking example of this is the so-called USAID scandal, which came to light following the election of Donald Trump in the United States. It was revealed that not only USAID but also other international funds were channeling financial support through NGOs to organize protests and revolutions against democratically elected governments in various countries", - D. Matikashvili stated.

Under the proposed changes, civil society and NGOs will retain the right to participate in discussions on issues of interest to them. However, their involvement in the decision-making process will no longer be a formal requirement.

Additionally, the draft law introduces changes to the procedure for electing members of the Central Election Commission (CEC). According to the amendments, improvements will be made to the current system, under which a candidate for CEC membership is considered elected if they receive the support of three-fifths of the total composition of Parliament during the vote.

The amendments were approved with 84 votes in favor.