Aleko Elisashvili, who headed the Citizens' Party and declared a brief war in Ukraine against Russia in 2022, attacked Mamuka Mdinaradze, the majority leader of the parliament and executive secretary of the ruling Georgia Dream Party.
The video shows Mr. Elisashvili rushing to punch Mr. Mdinaradze in the face while he is speaking. The room was then chaotically chaotic as lawmakers seemed to try to stop him. The National Assembly session was suspended for a while and Mr. Elisashvili was escorted out of the room by security.
The fight broke out on the first day of debate on the draft law "On the transparency of foreign influence" (abbreviated as the foreign representative bill). A similar bill was rejected by lawmakers last spring following widespread protests that led to clashes with police.
Under last year's bill, individuals and organizations with more than 20% foreign capital - including non-governmental organizations, print newspapers, electronic newspapers, radio and television - must register as "a foreign influential representative".
While supporters argue that the bill will increase media transparency, those who criticize it consider it a Russian law.
Russia passed a similar law in 2012. Russia's law is compared to the Law on Foreign Representative Registration of the United States (FARA) in 1938, which requires certain individuals and organizations to register as foreign representatives. Russia denies any connection to the proposed bill in Georgia.
Georgia's foreign representative bill has also been criticized by Gruzia President Salome Zourabichvili, warning that it would undermine the country's efforts to join the EU.
Meanwhile, the White House argues that the bill would undermine freedom of speech and damage Georgias ties with the West.
The only difference between the new and old versions of the bill is that the term foreign influence worker has been replaced by organize to support the interests of a foreign power.
Meanwhile, lawmaker Elisashvili tried to defend his actions, saying he had done something that no other opposition lawmaker dared to do, and calling on the Georgiaese people to attack the bill.
For his part, lawmaker Mdinaradze accused Mr. Elisashvili of not behaving as a man.
